* 


ARTISTIC  CRAFTS 


DBOOKS 


HERALDRY  FOR  CRAFTSMEN  1 
AND  DESIGNERS 


THE  ARTISTIC  CRAFTS  SERIES 
OF  TECHNICAL  HANDBOOKS 
EDITED  BY  W.  R.  LETHABY 


HERALDRY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  • BOSTON  • CHICAGO  • DALLAS 
ATLANTA  • SAN  FRANCISCO 


MACMILLAN  & CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  • BOMBAY  • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


BANNER  OF  THE  ARMS  OF  KING  GEORGE  THE  FIFTH. 


HERALDRY  FOR 

CRAFTSMEN  & DESIGNERS 
BY  W.  H.  ST.  JOHN  HOPE 
LITT.D.,  D.C.L.,  WITH  DIA- 
GRAMS BY  THE  AUTHOR  AND  ' 
NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS 
COLOURED  LITHOGRAPHS 
AND  COLLOTYPE  REPRO- 
DUCTIONS FROM  ANCIENT 
EXAMPLES 


Nefo  fgork 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
*9l3 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1913, 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotypod.  Published  September,  1913. 


Norwood  ^ress 

J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  — Berwick  & Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


EDITOR’S  PREFACE 


In  issuing  this  volume  of  a series  of  Handbooks  on 
the  Artistic  Crafts,  it  will  be  well  to  state  what  are 
our  general  aims. 

In  the  first  place,  we  wish  to  provide  trustworthy 
text-books  of  workshop  practice,  from  the  points  of 
view  of  experts  who  have  critically  examined  the 
methods  current  in  the  shops,  and  putting  aside 
vain  survivals,  are  prepared  to  say  what  is  good 
workmanship  and  to  set  up  a standard  of  quality 
in  the  crafts  which  are  more  especially  associated 
with  design.  Secondly,  in  doing  this,  we  hope  to 
treat  design  itself  as  an  essential  part  of  good  work- 
manship. During  the  last  century  most  of  the  arts, 
save  painting  and  sculpture  of  an  academic  kind, 
were  little  considered,  and  there  was  a tendency  to 
look  on  ‘design’  as  a mere  matter  of  appearance. 
Such  ‘ ornamentation  ’ as  there  was  was  usually  ob- 
tained by  following  in  a mechanical  way  a drawing 
provided  by  an  artist  who  often  knew  little  of  the 
technical  processes  involved  in  production.  With 
the  critical  attention  given  to  the  crafts  by  Ruskin 
and  Morris,  it  came  to  be  seen  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  detach  design  from  craft  in  this  way,  and 
that,  in  the  widest  sense,  true  design  is  an  insepar- 
able element  of  good  quality,  involving  as  it  does 
the  selection  of  good  and  suitable  material,  con- 
trivance for  special  purpose,  expert  workmanship, 

7 


Editor’s  proper  finish  and  so  on,  far  more  than  mere  orna- 
Preface  ment,  and,  indeed,  that  ornamentation  itself  was 
rather  an  exuberance  of  fine  workmanship  than  a 
matter  of  merely  abstract  lines.  Workmanship 
when  separated  by  too  wide  a gulf  from  fresh 
thought — that  is,  from  design — inevitably  decays, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  ornamentation,  divorced 
from  workmanship,  is  necessarily  unreal,  and 
quickly  falls  into  affectation.  Proper  ornamen- 
tation may  be  defined  as  a language  addressed  to 
the  eye;  it  is  pleasant  thought  expressed  in  the 
speech  of  the  tool. 

In  the  third  place,  we  would  have  this  series  put 
artistic  craftsmanship  before  people  as  furnishing 
reasonable  occupations  for  those  who  would  gain 
a livelihood.  Although  within  the  bounds  of 
academic  art  the  competition,  of  its  kind,  is  so 
acute  that  only  a very  few  per  cent,  can  fairly  hope 
to  succeed  as  painters  and  sculptors,  yet  as  artistic 
craftsmen  there  is  some  probability  that  nearly 
every  one  who  would  pass  through  a sufficient 
period  of  apprenticeship  to  workmanship  and  de- 
sign would  reach  a measure  of  success. 

In  the  blending  of  handwork  and  thought  in  such 
arts  as  we  propose  to  deal  with,  happy  careers  may 
be  found  as  far  removed  from  the  dreary  routine 
of  hack  labour  as  from  the  terrible  uncertainty  of 
academic  art.  It  is  desirable  in  every  way  that 
men  of  good  education  should  be  brought  back  into 
the  productive  crafts  : there  are  more  than  enough 
of  us  ‘in  the  City,’  and  it  is  probable  that  more 
consideration  will  be  given  in  this  century  than  in 
the  last  to  Design  and  Workmanship. 


8 


Designers  have  at  times  to  deal  with  some  mat- 
ters which  are  almost  common  to  all  the  arts,  mat- 
ters which  they  either  know  or  do  not  know,  and 
in  which  the  genius  they  are  apt  to  trust  in  goes  for 
little  apart  from  knowledge.  They  must  learn 
lettering  for  inscriptions  much  like  they  once  learnt 
the  multiplication  table,  and  they  should  learn  the 
elements  of  heraldry  in  the  same  way.  This  it  has 
been  difficult  to  do,  as  most  of  the  books  on  heraldry, 
in  seeking  to  be  complete,  so  effectually  muddle 
up  the  few  important  points  with  the  vast  number 
of  things  unimportant,  or  worse,  that  the  art  stu- 
dent is  likely  to  give  it  up  in  despair.  Many  books 
on  heraldry,  which  in  itself  is  surely  a gay  thing, 
have  been  made  to  resemble  grammars  and  dic- 
tionaries of  a meaningless  jargon. 

Any  student,  however,  who  has  become  inter- 
ested in  a single  shield,  or  in  the  look  of  the  thing  as 
seen  in  a collection  of  fine  examples  of  heraldry  such 
as  are  illustrated  in  this  volume,  should  be  able  to 
master  the  main  principles  in  an  hour  or  two.  The 
curious  terms  are  only  old-fashioned  ; they  are  used, 
so  far  as  they  are  necessary,  not  of  malice,  but  be- 
cause it  is  of  the  essence  of  heraldry  that  everything 
shall  be  so  strictly  defined  that  a few  words  may 
represent  a shield  of  arms  as  surely  as  a picture. 
Hence  everything  has  a name,  everything  is  clear, 
sharp,  and  bright,  the  colours  are  few,  the  forms 
must  be  large  and  simple.  Even  the  seemingly 
arbitrary  dictum  that  ‘no  colour  must  be  put  on 
colouror  metal  on  metal  ’ may  probably  have  arisen 
from  the  fact  that  when  gilding  or  silvering  was 
used  on  a shield  it  would  form  a perfect  foil  for 
colours,  but  as  they  reflected  light  in  the  same 

9 


Editor’s 

Preface 


Editor’s  way,  they  could  not  be  distinguished  if  used  one  on 
Preface  the  other.  Even  yellow  pigment  on  white  would 
not  tell  clearly  at  any  distance  ; the  maxim  is  merely 
a rule  for  the  sake  of  distinctness.  Again,  the 
curious  vigorous  drawing  of  beasts  and  birds  with 
the  eyes  staring  and  the  feet  spread  out  was  not  the 
result  of  a desire  to  be  quaint,  but  arose  naturally 
from  the  same  need  of  being  clear.  A good 
naturalistic  drawing  of  a lion  would  be  useless  on  a 
flag.  Granted  the  special  needs  of  heraldry,  it 
developed  in  a perfectly  understandable  way. 

On  the  question  of  heraldic  drawing  I should  like 
to  caution  the  student  against  thinking  that  it  is  so 
easy  as  it  looks.  Elementary  and  exaggerated,  it 
may  seem  as  if  any  child  might  do  it,  but  in  truth 
it  is  terribly  difficult.  The  old  shields  were  designed 
by  experts  with  great  experience  ; they  placed  the 
charge  perfectly  on  the  field  and  so  distributed  the 
parts  that  they  were  balanced  in  ‘weight’;  there 
were  no  weak  lines  and  nothing  was  crowded  for 
lack  of  room.  Much  practice  made  them  perfect, 
and  perfection  is  still  difficult. 

The  present  volume  seems  to  me  exactly  what 
artists  have  wanted. 

W.  R.  LETHABY 

March  1913 


IO 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE 


This  book  is  an  attempt  to  place  before  designers 
and  craftsmen  such  an  account  of  the  principles 
of  the  art  of  Heraldry  as  will  enable  them  to  work 
out  for  themselves  the  many  and  various  applica- 
tions of  it  that  are  possible  to-day. 

To  that  end  the  different  usages  which  have 
prevailed  from  time  to  time  are  dealt  with  in  detail, 
and  are  illustrated  as  far  as  may  be  from  ancient 
sources. 

Should  it  be  thought  that  undue  stress  has  been 
laid  upon  the  pre-Tudor  heraldry,  to  the  compara- 
tive exclusion  of  that  of  later  times,  it  may  be 
pointed  out  that  until  the  principles  of  the  earlier 
heraldry  have  been  grasped  and  appreciated,  it  is 
impossible  to  get  rid  of  the  cast-iron  uniformity 
and  stupid  rules  that  bound  the  heraldry  of  to- 
day and  tend  to  strangle  all  attempts  to  raise  it  to 
a higher  level. 

To  what  extent  these  chilling  ideas  prevail,  and 
how  necessary  it  is  to  get  rid  of  them,  cannot  better 
be  illustrated  than  by  two  letters  written  to  the 
author,  after  most  of  the  following  chapters  were  in 
type,  by  a critical  friend  who  has  not  read  any  of 
them. 

He  points  out  in  his  first  letter  that  on  the  very 
day  of  his  writing  there  had  been  brought  to  his 

II 


Author’s  notice,  not  for  the  first  time,  the  great  need  that 
Preface  exists  for  a book  in  which  sculptors  and  painters 
may  find  out  what  they  legitimately  may  and  what 
they  may  not  do  as  regards  heraldry.  What,  for 
example,  may  be  left  out  from  an  achievement  of 
arms,  and  how  the  different  elements  composing  it 
may  be  varied,  or  even  rearranged. 

He  instances  the  case  of  a sculptor  who  had  been 
supplied  with  a drawing,  ‘ brilliant  in  emerald  green 
and  powder  blue,’  of  the  arms  that  had  been  granted 
to  a famous  Englishman  whose  memory  was  about 
to  be  honoured  by  the  setting  up  of  a statue  with 
his  arms,  etc.  carved  upon  the  pedestal. 

The  arms  in  the  drawing  did  not  present  any 
difficulties,  but  the  crest  was  not  shown  upon  the 
helm,  and  the  whole  was  surrounded  by  a series  of 
trophies  which  to  this  unenlightened  sculptor  were 
as  heraldic  as  the  arms  and  crest.  Out  of  all  this, 
asked  the  sculptor,  what  could  lawfully  be  omitted? 
If  any  of  the  trophies  were  supporters,  must  they 
be  shown  ? And  must  the  crest  be  used  ? Ought 
the  crest  to  be  on  a helm  ? And  should  the  helm 
be  shown  in  profile  or  full-faced  ? 

The  contents  of  the  drawing,  if  all  were  sculp- 
tured, would,  in  my  friend’s  opinion,  ‘either  come 
so  small  as  to  be  unmonumental,  or  so  large  as  to 
dwarf  the  statue  into  a doll.’ 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  principles  enunciated  in 
the  present  work  that  the  answers  to  the  foregoing 
questions  were  obviously  as  follows  : 

I.  That  the  sculptor  might  use  the  arms  alone 
if  he  thought  fit,  and  he  might  vary  the  shape 
and  size  of  the  shield  according  to  his  fancy. 

II.  That  he  could  omit  the  crest  if  he  wished, 


12 


but  if  he  elected  to  use  it,  the  crest  ought  certainly 
to  be  set  upon  a helm,  which  should  face  the  same 
way  as  the  crest ; the  crested  helm  might  also 
be  flourished  about  with  such  mantling  as  the 
sculptor  thought  proper. 

III.  That  in  the  particular  drawing  none  of  the 
trophies  was  heraldic.  The  sculptor  accordingly 
could  omit  the  whole,  if  he  were  so  minded,  or 
could  dispose  about  the  arms  and  crested  helm  any 
such  other  trophies  of  like  character  as  would  in  his 
judgment  look  well  or  be  appropriate. 

In  a further  letter  my  friend  enumerates  other 
difficulties  that  vex  poor  artists.  Must  a shield 
always  be  surmounted  by  a crested  helm  ? Should 
the  helm  face  any  special  way  according  to  the  de- 
gree of  the  bearer  thereof  ? What  are  the  ordinary 
relative  proportions  which  helm  and  crest  should 
bear  to  the  shield  ? May  a shield  be  set  aslant  as 
well  as  upright  ? Should  a torse  be  drawn  with  a 
curved  or  a straight  line  ? Is  it  necessary  to  repre- 
sent the  engraved  dots  and  lines  indicative  of  the 
tinctures  ? What  are  supporters  to  stand  upon  ? 
Are  they  to  plant  their  feet  on  a ribbon  or  scroll,  o-r 
on  a flowering  mound,  or  what  ? May  arms 
entitled  to  have  supporters  be  represented  without 
them  ? What  are  the  simplest  elements  to  which 
a shield  of  arms  may  be  reduced  ? — as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  a panel  some  60  or  70  feet  above  the 
eye,  and  when  but  a small  space  is  available. 

To  a craftsman  or  designer  who  has  grasped  the 
principles  of  heraldry  these  further  questions  will 
present  no  difficulty,  and  most  of  them  can  be 
answered  by  that  appeal  to  medieval  usage  which 
the  nature  of  the  illustrations  renders  possible. 

13 


Author’s 

Preface 


Author’s  These  illustrations,  it  will  be  seen,  are  largely 
Preface  selected  from  heraldic  seals,  and  for  the  particular 
reason  that  seals  illustrate  so  admirably  and  in  a 
small  compass  such  a number  of  those  usages  to 
which  appeal  may  confidently  be  made.  Examples 
of  heraldry  in  conjunction  with  buildings,  monu- 
ments, and  architectural  features  generally,  have 
also  been  given,  and  its  application  to  the  minor 
arts  has  not  been  overlooked. 

In  order,  too,  to  enable  full  advantage  to  be 
taken  of  the  long  period  covered  by  the  illustra- 
tions, the  most  typical  of  these  have  been  collected 
into  a chronological  series  at  the  end  of  the  book. 
It  is  thus  possible  to  show  the  gradual  rise  and  de- 
cline of  heraldic  art  from  the  thirteenth  to  the 
seventeenth  century,  beyond  which  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  go. 

The  only  modern  illustrations  that  have  been 
tolerated  are  those  showing  the  formation  of  the 
Union  Jack,  and  the  degraded  condition  of  the 
so-called  Royal  Standard.  The  coloured  frontis- 
piece is  an  attempt  to  show  a more  effective  way 
of  displaying  with  equal  heraldic  ‘correctness’  the 
arms  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  King  George  the 
Fifth. 

W.  H.  ST.  JOHN  HOPE 

My  thanks  are  due  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  London  for  leave  to  reproduce  the  coloured  illus- 
trations in  pis.  I and  n,  for  the  loan  of  blocks  or 
drawings  of  figs.  7,  13,  33,  64,  65,  101,  129,  153,  186, 
187,  190,  and  193,  and  for  leave  to  photograph  the 
numerous  casts  of  seals  figured  in  pis.  v-xiv  and 
xvii— xxx  and  throughout  the  book;  to  the  Royal 
Archaeological  Institute  for  loan  of  figs.  20  and  107; 

14 


to  the  Sussex  Archaeological  Society  for  the  loan  of 
fig.  142  ; to  the  Societyof  Arts  for  figs.  6,  15,  17,  28,  30,41, 
43,  46,  48,  5L  55>  73>  74>  86,  92,  114,  126,  127,  150,  154, 
155,  and  199;  to  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects for  figs.  8,  93,  and  199 ; to  Messrs.  Cassell  & Co.  for 
figs.  21,  53,  54,  56,  63,  81,  84,  85,  91,  108,  109,  1 17,  1 18, 
124,  132,  133,  139,  151 ; to  Messrs.  Constable  & Co.  for 
figs.  9,  14,  43,  67,  68,  72,  75,  76,  77,  78,  83,  136,  137, 
138  ; to  Messrs.  Parker  & Co.  for  fig.  143  ; and  to  Messrs. 
Longmans  & Co.  for  figs.  177,  183.  Also  to  Mr.  T.  W. 
Rutter  for  lending  the  drawings  reproduced  in  pis.  11 
and  hi  ; to  Mr.  R.  W.  Paul  for  the  drawing  of  fig.  184; 
to  Mr.  Mill  Stephenson  for  the  loan  of  the  brass  rub- 
bings reproduced  in  figs.  19,  26,  27,  29,  31,  32,  35-39, 
42,  146-148;  to  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Galpin,  Mr.  E.  M. 
Beloe,  and  Mr.  Aymer  Vallance  for  the  photographs 
of  figs.  47,  149,  and  191  respectively;  and  to  the  Rev. 
Severne  Majendie  for  leave  to  photograph  the  effigies 
of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Exeter  (figs.  167,  168)  in 
St.  Katharine’s  chapel  in  Regent’s  Park. 

I wish  also  to  thank,  among  others,  Mr.  David  Weller, 
head  verger  of  Westminster  Abbey,  for  leave  to  repro- 
duce the  photographs  shown  in  figs.  1,  2,  4,  34,  40,  87, 
104,  1 10,  134,  1 56,  176,  194,  195  ; Mr.  T.  W.  Phillips,  of 
Wells,  for  those  forming  figs.  23  and  111;  Mr.  Charles 
Goulding,  of  Beverley,  for  those  forming  figs.  49,  50; 
Mr.  T.  Palmer  Clarke,  of  Cambridge,  for  those  forming 
figs.  88,  96,  128,  170,  171,  and  172;  and  Mr.  Fred 
Spalding,  of  Chelmsford,  for  the  photograph  of  the  New 
Hall  panel  in  fig.  189. 


Author’s 

Preface 


is 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

Defects  of  Modern  Heraldic  Decoration ; Appeal  to 
First  Principles;  English  versus  Foreign  Sources; 
Definition  of  Heraldry;  Modes  of  Display;  Colours 
and  Furs;  Formation  of  Arms;  Divisions  of  the 
Shield ; Early  Authorities  : Seals,  Monuments,  Build- 
ings, Wills  and  Inventories,  Rolls  of  Arms. 

II.  THE  SHIELD  AND  ITS  TREATMENT  65 

Early  Forms  of  Shields;  Later  Forms;  Shields  of  Ir- 
regular Outline  and  Surface ; T ne  Filling  of  a Shield ; 
Apparent  versus  Absolute  Uniformity;  Modern 
Rules  as  to  Proportion;  The  Use  and  Abuse  of 
Quatering : its  Origin  and  Growth ; Differencing  of 
Arms;  The  Scutcheon  of  Ulster;  Diapering. 

III.  THE  SHIELD  AND  ITS  TREATMENT  (cont.)  109 
Armorial  Bearings  of  Ladies;  Use  of  Lozenges  and 
Roundels  as  variant  forms  of  Shields ; Arms  of  Men  on 
Lozenges ; Combinations  of  Shields  with  Lozenges 
and  Roundels  of  Arms  on  Seals  and  in  Embroideries. 

IV.  THE  TREATMENT  OF  CRESTS  123 

Origin  of  Crests;  Earliest  examples  of  Crests;  Ways 

of  wearing  Crests;  The  Helm  and  its  treatment; 
Modern  use  of  Helms ; Absurd  Crests ; Use  of  Crests 
other  than  by  individuals;  The  comparative  sizes  of 
Helms  and  Crests. 

V.  MANTLINGS  139 

Origin  of  Mantlings ; Simple  early  forms ; Colours  of 
Mantlings ; Medieval  usage  as  to  colours  of  Mant- 
lings. 

l6 


page 

33 


chap.  page 

VI.  CRESTS  AND  CROWNS,  CAPS  OF  ESTATE, 
AND  WREATHS  148 

Crests  within  Crowns;  Nature  and  Treatment  of 
Crowns ; Caps  of  Estate : Their  possible  origin  and 
introduction  into  Heraldry ; The  colour  of  Caps ; The 
placing  of  Crests  upon  Caps;  Wreaths  or  Torses; 
Their  Colour ; Crests  and  Mottoes ; Use  of  Crests  by 
Bishops ; The  ensigning  of  Arms  with  Mitres, 
Cardinals’  and  Doctors’  Hats,  and  Caps  of  Estate. 

VII.  THE  USE  OF  BADGES,  KNOTS,  AND  THE 
REBUS  165 

Definition  of  a Badge ; Difference  between  Crests  and 
Badges;  Examples  of  Badges;  The  Ostrich-Feather 
Badge ; The  White  Hart,  etc. ; Introduction  of  Badges 
into  Heraldry;  Their  Prevalence;  Allusive  Badges; 
Badges  of  obscure  Origin;  Knots  and  Badges;  The 
Rebus. 

VIII.  SUPPORTERS  .193 

The  probable  Origin  of  Supporters ; Quasi-Sup- 
porters; True  Supporters:  their  Introduction;  Sup- 
porters of  Crested  Helms ; Pairs  of  Supporters ; Dis- 
similar Supporters ; The  use  of  Supporters  by  Ladies ; 
Other  ways  of  Supporting  Shields. 

IX.  BANNERS  OF  ARMS  219 

The  Royal  Banner  of  Arms ; The  Banner  of  the  Arms 
of  the  City  of  London ; Shapes  of  Banners ; Sizes  of 
certain  Banners ; Upright  versus  Long  Banners ; 
Advantages  of  the  upright  form;  Banners  with 
Achievements  of  Arms;  Modern  Use  of  Banners. 

X.  MARSHALLING  OF  ARMS  251 

Arms  of  husband  and  wife;  Dimidiating;  Impaling; 
Scutcheons  of  Pretence;  Impalement  with  Official 
Arms ; Arms  of  ladies ; Heraldic  Drawing ; Mottoes ; 

Use  and  Misuse  of  the  Garter ; Lettering  and  Mottoes. 

XI.  CROWNS,  CORONETS,  AND  COLLARS  269 

Crowns  and  Coronets;  Introduction  of  Coronets; 
Coronets  of  Princes,  Dukes,  and  Earls;  Bequests  of 
Coronets;  Illustrations  of  Coronets  and  Crowns; 
Collars  and  Chains;  Collars  of  Orders;  Lancastrian 

B 17 


Contents 


Contents 


chap.  page 

Collars  of  SS;  Yorkist  Collars  of  Suns  and  Roses; 
Tudor  Collars  of  SS;  Other  Livery  Collars;  Waits’ 
Collars ; Collars  and  Chains  of  Mayors,  Mayoresses, 
and  Sheriffs;  The  Revival  of  Collars;  Inordinate 
Length  of  modern  Collars. 

XII.  HERALDIC  EMBROIDERIES  319 

The  introduction  of  armorial  insignia  in  embroidered 
Vestments  : on  Robes  : on  Beds,  etc. 

XIII.  TUDOR  AND  LATER  HERALDRY  331 

Decorative  Heraldry  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  VIII ; The 
Decadent  Change  in  the  Quality  of  Heraldry;  Ex- 
amples of  Elaborated  Arms ; Survival  of  Tradition  in 
Heraldic  Art;  Elizabethan  Heraldry;  Heraldry  in 
the  Seventeenth  Century  and  Under  the  Common- 
wealth; Post-Restoration  Heraldry. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  354 

INDEX  409 


18 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES 

Facing 

plate  page 

Banner  of  the  arms  of  King  George  the  Fifth 
(Frontispiece)  Title 

i.  Arms  of  Milton  Abbey  from  a window  in  Ibberton 
church,  Dorset,  c.  1475.  (From  “ Archaeologia”  48 
vol.  xlvii.) 

11.  | Shields  in  stained  glass  of  the  14th  century  in  the  54 
hi.  J Victoria  and  Albert  Museum.  (From  coloured  56 
drawings  by  Mr.  T.  W.  Rutter) 
iv.  Part  (reduced)  of  an  early  Roll  of  Arms  belonging  64 
to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London 


v.  Examples  of  shaped  shields  70 

vi.  Various  shapes  of  shields  73 

vii.  Examples  of  quatering  89 

Viii.  Examples  of  diapered  shields  104 

ix.  Use  of  lozenges  and  roundels  of  arms  112 

x.  Use  of  lozenges  and  roundels  of  arms  114 

xi.  Early  examples  of  crests  123 

xii.  Early  uses  of  crests,  on  seals  of  William  Montagu  125 
earl  of  Salisbury,  1337-44 

xiii.  Various  treatments  of  crests  129 

xiv.  Examples,  of  crests  and  mantlings  130 


xv.  Stall-plate  (reduced)  of  Hugh  Stafford  lord  15 1 
Bourchier,  c.  1421 

xvi.  Stall-plate  (reduced)  of  William  lord  Willoughby,  154 


c.  1421 

xvii.  Crests  with  mottoes  161 

xviii.  Examples  of  supporters  188 

xix.  Origin  of  supporters  193 

xx.  Shields  with  supporters  198 

xxi.  Shields  accompanied  by  badges  199 

xxii.  Quasi-supporter  200 

xxiii.  Shields  accompanied  by  badges  202 

xxiv.  Shields  accompanied  by  badges  203 


19 


List  of 
Illustrations 


PLATE 

XXV. 


XXVI. 


XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 


Facing 

page 


Arms  with  crown  and  supporters  of  Elizabeth  208 
Wydville,  queen  of  Edward  IV 

Arms,  supporters,  and  badges  of  the  lady'  Mar-  209 
garet  Beaufort,  1455 

Methods  of  arranging  shields  214 

Examples  of  banners  of  arms  216 

Ways  of  upholding  shields  218 

Crowned  shield  with  supporters  and  badges  of  the  288 
lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  148c 

Right  and  wrong  versions  of  the  Union  Jack  248 


FIG. 


3- 

4* 

5- 

6. 

7- 

8. 

9- 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  TEXT 


page 


Tile  with  the  arms  of  King  Henry  III  c.  1255,  from 
the  chapter-house  of  Westminster  abbey.  ( From 
a photograph  by  Mr.  David  W eller) 

Shield  of  the  arms  of  St.  Edward,  c.  1259,  in  the  quire 
of  Westminster  abbey  church.  ( From  a photograph 
by  Mr.  David  Weller ) 

Heraldry  on  the  gatehouse  of  Kirkham  priory,  York- 
shire, built  between  1289  and  1 296.  ( From  a photo- 
graph by  Mr.  C.  C.  Hodges ) 

Shield  with  curved  bend  or  baston  of  Henry  de  Laci 
earl  of  Lincoln,  c.  1259,  in  the  quire  of  Westminster, 
abbey  church.  ( From  a photograph  by  Mr.  David 
Weller) 

Arms  of  Clopton,  from  a brass  c.  1420  at  Long  Mel- 
ford  in  Suffolk 

Heraldic  candle-holder,  etc.  from  the  latten  grate 
about  the  tomb  of  King  Henry  VII  at  Westminster. 
{From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts;”  vol.  xlv. 
P-  238) 

Firedog  with  armorial  bearings.  {From  a drawing  by 
Mr.  C.  Praetorius,  F.S.A .) 

Chimney-piece  in  Tattershall  castle,  Lincolnshire, 
built  by  Ralph  lord  Cromwell  between  1433  and 
1455.  {From  “ Journal  of  the  Royal  Institute  of 
British  Architects  ” 3rd  S.  vol.  iv.  241) 

Paving  tiles  with  arms  and  badges  of  the  Beauchamps, 
from  Tewkesbury  abbey  church.  {From  “ The 
Ancestor”  vol.  ix.) 


36 


37 


38 


44 

46 


55 

56 


57 


58 


20 


fig.  page 

10.  Seal  of  Richard  duke  of  Gloucester,  as  admiral  of 

England  in  Dorset  and  Somerset  (1462)  59 

11.  Heraldic  buckle  from  the  effigy  of  Robert  lord  Hun- 

gerford  ( ob . 1459)  in  Salisbury  cathedral  church. 
{From  Stothard' s “ Monumental  Effigies ”)  60 

12.  Heraldic  buckle  from  the  effigy  of  William  lord  Bar- 

dolf  {ob.  1441)  in  Dennington  church,  Suffolk. 
{From  Stothard’s  “ Monumental  Effigies ”)  60 

13.  Enamelled  shield  with  the  arms  of  Ballard  on  the 

print  of  a mazer  at  All  Souls  College,  Oxford,  c. 

1445.  {From  “ Archaeologia”  vol.  1.  151)  61 

14.  Heraldic  paving  tiles  from  Tewkesbury  abbey. 

{From  “ The  Ancestor ,”  vol.  ix.)  63 

15.  Shield  with  rounded  corners  {c.  1259)  of  Richard  earl 

of  Cornwall  in  the  quire  of  Westminster  abbey 
church.  {From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts” 
vol.  xlv.  231)  66 

16.  Shields  of  English  work  from  the  tomb  of  William 

earl  of  Pembroke,  ob.  1296,  in  Westminster  abbey 
church.  {From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies”)  67 

17.  Seal  of  Hugh  Bardolf  showing  shield  with  square 


corners.  From  the  Barons’  Letter.  {From  “ Jour- 
nal of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  228)  68 

18.  Seal  and  counterseal  of  Simon  lord  of  Montagu,  with 
shield  supported  by  two  bearded  men  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  castle  of  Corfe  of  which  Simon  be- 


came governor  in  1298.  From  the  Barons’  Letter  69 

19.  Shield  of  ornate  form,  from  a brass  at  Stoke  Poges, 

Bucks,  1476  70 

20.  Head  of  a doorway,  now  in  Norwich  Guildhall,  with 

arms  of  King  Henry  VIII,  the  City  of  Norwich,  and 
the  Goldsmiths’  Company.  {From  the  Norwich 
volume  of  the  Archceological  Institute , p.  173)  72 

21.  Shield  with  engrailed  edges,  c.  1520,  from  the  chantry 

chapel  of  abbot  Thomas  Ramryge  in  St.  Albans 
abbey  church.  {From  Boutell's  “ English  Heraldry  ” 

No.  210)  73 

22.  Shields  with  ridged  charges,  from  the  monument  of 

Guy  lord  Bryen,  ob.  1390,  in  Tewkesbury  abbey 
church.  {From  Stothard' s “ Monumental  Effigies”)  74 

23.  Armorial  panels  from  the  George  Inn  at  Glastonbury 

{From  a photograph  by  Mr.  T.  W . Phillips ) 75 


List  of 
Illustrations 


21 


FIG. 


List  of 
Illustrations 


page 


24.  Shield  with  curved  surface  from  an  effigy  of  a Pem- 

bridge  at  Clehonger,  Herefordshire.  ( From  Stot- 
hard's  “ Monumental  Effigies”)  76 

25.  Shield  from  the  seal  of  Henry  Percy  (from  the  Barons’ 

Letter)  with  well-drawn  lion  77 

26.  Shield  with  a leaping  lion,  from  a brass  c.  1380  at  Fel- 

brigge  in  Norfolk  78 

27.  Shield  with  an  eagle  from  a brass  at  Great  Tew,  Oxon, 

c.  1410  79 

28.  Seal  of  Queen’s  College,  Oxford,  1341,  with  well- 

filled  shields.  ( From.  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Arts”  vol.  xlv.  230)  80 

29.  Shield  with  a griffin,  from  a brass  of  1405,  at  Bough- 

ton-under-Blean,  Kent  81 

30.  Seal  of  Peter  de  Mauley  IV  (from  the  Barons’Letter) 

showing  a simple,  well-balanced  shield.  ( From 

“ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  234)  82 

31.  Shield  with  a bend  counter-flowered  from  the  brass 

of  Sir  Thomas  Bromfleet,  1430,  at  Wymington, 
Beds.  . 82 

32.  Shield  with  three  lions,  from  a brass  at  Stanford 

Dingley,  Berks,  1444  83 


33.  Shield  of  the  royal  arms  done  in  boiled  leather,  from 

the  tomb  of  Edward  prince  of  Wales  at  Canterbury, 
1376.  {Reduced from,  Vetusta  Monumenta,  vol.  vii.)  84 

34.  Shield  of  the  King  of  France,  c.  1259,  in  the  quire  of 

Westminster  abbey  church.  {From  a photograph 
by  Mr.  David  Weller)  85 

35  and  36.  Shields  with  uncharged  ordinaries  : from  the 
brass  of  bishop  Robert  Wyvil  at  Salisbury,  1375; 
and  the  brass  of  William  Holyngbroke  at  New 
Romney  in  Kent,  1375  87 

37.  Shield  with  a charged  bend  from  a brass  at  Kidder- 
minster, 1415  88 

38  and  39.  Shields  with  engrailed  borders,  plain  and 
charged  : from  the  brass  of  William  Grevel,  1401,  at 
Chipping  Campden  in  Gloucestershire;  and  the 
brass  of  Thomas  Walysel,  c.  1420,  at  Whitchurch, 
Oxon.  90 

40.  Quartered  shield  of  Queen  Eleanor  of  Castile,  from 
her  tomb  at  Westminster,  1291.  {From  a photo- 
graph by  Mr.  David  Weller)  91 


22 


FIG. 

41. 

42. 

43- 

44. 

45- 

46. 

47- 

48. 

49. 

50- 

51- 

52. 

53- 

54- 


page 


Arms  of  King  Edward  III  from  his  tomb  at  Westmin- 
ster. ( From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol. 
xlv.  230)  92 

Shield  with  impaled  quarters  from  the  brass  of  Peter 
Halle,  oh.  1420,  at  Herne  in  Kent  93 

Arms  of  St.  Edward,  from  the  tomb  of  Edmund  duke 
of  York,  oh.  1402,  at  King’s  Langley.  {From  “ The 
Ancestor”  vol.  ii.)  94 

Seal  of  Humphrey  Stafford  earl  of  Buchingham,  Here- 
ford, Stafford,  Northampton,  and  Perche,  as  captain 
of  Calais  and  lieutenant  of  the  Marches,  1442  95 

Shield  of  Sir  Hugh  Hastings  from  the  Elsing  brass 
(1347),  with  diapered  maunch  and  a label  of  three 
pieces.  {From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol. 
xlv.  231)  100 

Part  of  the  gilt-latten  effigy  of  Edward  prince  of  Wales 
at  Canterbury,  showing  labels  over  both  the  arms 
and  the  crest.  {From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Arts”  vol.  xlv.  232)  102 

Diapered  shield  of  the  arms  of  Vere,  from  an  effigy  in 
Hatfield  Broadoak  church,  Essex.  {From  a photo- 
graph by  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Galpin)  104 


Diapered  shield  from  the  seal  of  Robert  Waldby  arch- 
bishop of  York,  1390,  for  the  Regality  of  Hexham. 
{From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  23 1)  105 
Diapered  shield  of  the  arms  of  Clun,  from  the  monu- 
ment of  the  lady  Eleanor  Percy  {oh.  1337)  in  Bever- 
ley Minster.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  C.  Gould- 
ing)  106 

Diapered  shield  of  the  arms  of  Percy,  from  the  monu- 
ment of  the  lady  Eleanor  Percy  {ob.  1337)  in  Bever- 
ley Minster.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  C.  Gould- 
ing ) 107 

Lozenge  of  arms  from  the  monument  at  Westminster 
of  Frances  Brandon  duchess  of  Suffolk,  ob.  1559. 
{From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  229)  1 10 
Seal  of  Robert  FitzPain,  with  arms  in  an  oval.  From 
the  Barons’  Letter  112 

Seal  of  Joan  de  Barre,  wife  of  John  de  Warenne  earl 
of  Surrey,  1306.  {From  BcrutelVs  “ English  Her- 
aldry,”  No.  318)  1 13 

Seal  of  Mary  de  Seynt-Pol,  wife  of  Aymer  of  Valence 

23 


List  of 
Illustrations 


List  of 
Illustrations 


fig.  page 

earl  of  Pembroke,  1322.  ( From  BoutelV s“  English 
Heraldry ,”  No.  319)  116 

55.  Seal  of  Maud  Badlesmere,  wife  of  John  de  Vere  earl 

of  Oxford,  1336.  ( From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Arts,”  vol.  xlv.  228)  1 18 

56.  Seal  of  Maud  of  Lancaster,  wife  of  William  of  Burgh 

earl  of  Ulster,  and  of  Sir  Ralph  Ufford,  1343-4. 
{From  Bouteir s “ English  Heraldry,”  No.  320)  119 

57.  The  Syon  Cope,  now  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 

Museum  121 


58.  Seal  of  Thomas  de  Moulton,  with  fan-shaped  crest 

on  helm  and  horse’s  head.  From  the  Barons’ Letter  124 

59.  Seal  of  Thomas  earl  of  Lancaster,  Leicester,  and 

Ferrers,  showing  wiver  crest  on  his  helm  and  horse’s 


head.  From  the  Barons’  Letter  126 

60.  Seal  of  Henry  of  Lancaster,  lord  of  Monmouth,  with 

wiver  crest  and  quasi-supporters.  From  the 
Barons’  Letter  127 

61.  Seal  of  Robert  de  la  Warde,  with  fan  crest.  From  the 

Barons’  Letter  128 

62.  Seal  of  Walter  de  Mounci,  with  helm  surmounted  by 

a fox  as  a crest.  From  the  Barons’  Letter  128 

63.  Seal  of  Sir  Robert  de  Marni,  1366,  with  crested  helms 

flanking  the  shield.  {From  BoutelV s “ English  Her- 
aldry,” No.  381)  130 

64.  Crest,  etc.  of  Sir  John  Astley,  from  a MS.  c.  1420. 

{From  “ Archaeologia,”  vol.  lvii.)  13 1 

65.  Crest  of  Edward  prince  of  Wales,  1376,  of  leather  and  . 

stamped  gesso.  {Reduced  from  “ Vetusta  Monu- 
menta ,”  vol.  vii.)  132 


66.  Funeral  helm  and  wooden  crest  of  George  Brooke, 

lord  Cobham,  ob.  1558,  in  Cobham  church,  Kent  133 

67.  Stall-plate  of  Humphrey  duke  of  Buckingham  as  earl 

of  Stafford,  c.  1429.  {From  “ The  Ancestor ,”  vol.  iii.)  135 

68.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Thomas  Burgh,  K.G.,  c.  1483. 

{From  “ The  Ancestor ,”  vol.  iii.)  136 

69.  Seal  of  Richard  Nevill  with  separate  crests  and  sup- 

porters for  his  earldoms  of  Salisbury  and  Warwick  137 

70.  Seal  of  William  lord  Hastings,  c.  1461  140 

71.  Seal  of  William  de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk,  1415  141 

72.  Stall-plate  of  Ralph  lord  Bassett,  showing  simple  form 

of  mantling.  {From  “ The  Ancestor ,”  vol.  iii.)  142 


24 


fig.  page 

73.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Sanchet  Dabrichecourt,  K.G.,  c. 

1421.  ( From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol. 
xlv.  233)  143 

74.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  William  Arundel,  K.G.,  c.  1421. 

{From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv. 

233)  .145 

75.  Stall-plate  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick, 

after  1423.  {From  “ The  Ancestor  ,”  vol.  iii.)  146 

76.  Stall-plate  of  Richard  Wydville  lord  Rivers,  c.  1450. 

{From  “ The  Ancestor”  vol.  iii.)  147 

77.  Stall-plate  of  Hugh  lord  Burnell,  c.  1421.  {From 

“ The  Ancestor”  vol.  iii.)  149 

78.  Arms  of  St.  Edmund,  from  the  tomb  of  Edmund 

duke  of  York,  ob.  1402,  at  King’s  Langley.  {From 
“ The  Ancestor”  vol.  ii.)  150 

79.  Crest  from  the  stall-plate  of  Hugh  Stafford  lord 

Bourchier  152 

80.  Two  forms  of  the  same  crest.  From  the  stall-plate  of 

Richard  lord  Grey  of  Codnor  153 

81.  Helm  with  crest  and  wreath  from  the  Hastings  brass 

at  Elsing,  1347.  {From  BoutelT s “ English  Her- 
aldry” No.  385)  ^ 157 

82.  Helm  with  crest  and  torse  and  simple  form  of  mant- 

ling, from  the  Harsick  brass  at  Southacre,  1384  159 

83.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Simon  Felbrigge,  c.  1421.  {From 

“ The  Ancestor”  vol.  iii.)  160 

84.  Privy  seal  of  Henry  le  Despenser  bishop  of  Norwich, 

1370-1406.  {From  BoutelT s “ English  Heraldry” 

No.  351)  162 

85.  Shield  with  ostrich-feather  badge  from  the  tomb  of 

Edward  prince  of  Wales  {ob.  1376)  at  Canterbury. 
{From  BoutelT  s “ English  Heraldry”  No.  401)  167 

86.  Seal  of  Thomas  of  Woodstock  duke  of  Gloucester 

with  ostrich-feather  and  Bohun  swan  badges.  {From 
“ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  240)  168 

87.  Fetterlock-and-falcon  badge  of  the  house  of  York, 

from  Henry  VII’s  chapel  at  Westminster.  {From 
a photograph  by  Mr.  David  Weller)  169 

88.  Crowned  rose  and  portcullis  from  King’s  college 

chapel  at  Cambridge.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr. 

J.  Palmer  Clarke ) 170 

89.  Seal  of  Robert  de  Clifford,  with  arms  surrounded  by 

25 


List  of 
Illustrations 


List  of 
Illustrations 


fig.  page 

rings  in  allusion  to  his  mother  Isabel  Vipont.  (From 
the  Barons’  Letter)  171 

90.  Seal  of  Robert  de  Toni  as  chevaler  au  cing  with 

the  arms  encircled  by  swans  and  talbots.  (From 
the  Barons’  Letter)  171 

91.  Seal  of  Oliver  Bohun  with  swans  about  the  shield. 

{From  BoutelV s “ English  Heraldry ,”  No.  321)  172 

92.  Gilt-latten  effigy  at  Westminster  of  King  Richard  II, 

pounced  with  badges,  etc.  {From  “ Journal  of  the 
Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  240)  173 

93.  Piers  and  arches  in  Wingfield  church,  Suffolk,  with 

badges  of  Michael  de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk  {ob. 


1415)  and  his  wife  Katharine  Stafford.  {From  a 
photograph  by  the  Rev.  IF.  Marshall  in  “ Journal  of 
the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects ,”  3rd.  S. 


vol.  iv.  245)  176 

94.  Chimney-piece  in  the  Bishop’s  Palace  at  Exeter  with 

the  arms  and  badges  of  bishop  Peter  Courtenay, 
1478-87.  {From  a photograph  by  Heath  and 
Bradnee ) 1 77 

95.  Gateway  to  the  Deanery  at  Peterborough.  Built  by 

Robert  Kirkton  abbot  1497-1526.  {From  a photo- 
graph by  Mr.  A.  Nicholls)  178 

96.  The  gatehouse  of  Christ’s  College,  Cambridge.  {From 

a photograph  by  Mr.  J.  Palmer  Clarke)  179 


97.  Bronze  door  with  badges  of  York  and  Beaufort  from 

the  Lady  chapel  of  Westminster  abbey  church. 
{From  a photograph  by  Mr.  Emery  Walker , F.S.A .)  180 

98.  Signet  with  badge  and  crested  helm  of  Lewis  lord 

Bourchier,  1420  181 

99.  Seal  of  Hugh  de  Veer  with  boar  badge  and  two  wivers 

as  supporters.  (From  the  Barons’  Letter)  181 

100.  Signet  of  William  lord  Bardolf,  c.  1410,  with  eagle 

badge  derived  from  his  arms  182 

101 . Signet  with  flote  badge  and  word  of  Sir  William  Old- 

halle  in  1457.  {From  “ Archaeologia”  vol.  xxxvii. 

337)  . 182 

102.  Seal  with  badge  (a  gray  or  badger)  of  Richard  lord 

Grey  of  Codnor,  1392  183 

103.  Seal  of  Thomas  lord  Stanley  as  earl  of  Derby  and 

seneschal  of  Macclesfield,  1485,  with  the  eagle’s 
claw  badge  of  Stanley  and  the  legs  of  the  Isle  of 
Man  183 


26 


FIG. 

104. 

105. 

106. 
107. 

108. 

109. 

110. 

111. 

1 1 2. 

1 13- 
U4. 

US- 

116. 

117. 


page 

Daisy  plant  ( marguerite ) badge  of  the  Lady  Mar- 
garet Beaufort,  from  Henry  VII’s  chapel  at  West- 
minster. ( From  a photograph  by  Mr.  David  Weller ) 184 
Part  of  the  brass  at  Exeter  of  canon  William  Lange- 
ton,  kinsman  of  Edward  Stafford  bishop  of  Exeter, 
1413,  in  cope  with  an  orphry  of  36’s  and  Stafford 


knots  185 

Elbow-piece  and  Bourchier  knot  from  the  brass  of 
Sir  Humphrey  Bourchier,  ob.  1471,  in  Westminster 
abbey  church  186 

Alabaster  tomb  and  effigy  of  Edward  Stafford  earl  of 
Wiltshire,  ob.  1498,  in  Lowick  church,  Northamp- 
tonshire. {From  the  “ Archceological  Journal ,”  vol. 
lxi.  233)  # 187 

Rebus  of  abbot  Robert  Kirkton  from  the  Deanery 
Gate  at  Peterborough.  {From  Boutell' s “ English 
Heraldry ,”  No.  295)  188 

Rebus  of  Thomas  Beckington  bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  1477.  {From  Boutell' s “ English  Heraldry ,” 

No.  296)  188 

Rebus  of  John  Islip  abbot  of  Westminster,  from  his 
chantry  chapel.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr. 
David  Weller)  1 89 

Oriel  window  in  the  Deanery  at  Wells  with  badges  of 
King  Edward  IV,  and  badges  and  rebuses  of  Dean  v 
Gunthorpe.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  T.  W. 
Phillips)  190 

Arms  and  rebus  of  Sir  John  Pechy,  ob.  1522,  from 
painted  glass  in  Lullingstone  church,  Kent. 
{From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies")  19 1 

Seal  of  John  de  Moun  slung  from  an  eagle  and  flanked 
by  two  leopards.  From  the  Barons’  Letter  195 

Seal  of  Alan  la  Souche  in  1301.  From  the  Barons’ 
Letter.  {From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts"  vol. 
xlv.  228)  196 

Seal  of  John  Beauchamp  of  Hacche,  with  shield  on 
breast  of  an  eagle.  (From  the  Barons’  Letter)  197 

Seal  of  William  de  Ferrers  with  shield  upon  an  eagle 
with  two  heads.  (From  the  Barons’  Letter)  197 

Seal  of  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of  March  and  Ulster, 

1400,  with  rampant  leopard  supporters.  {From 
Boutell' s “ English  Heraldry"  No.  407)  201 


List  of 
Illustrations 


27 


List  of 
Illustrations 


fig.  page 

1 1 8.  Seal  of  Sir  William  Windsor,  1381,  with  eagle  suppor- 

ters. ( From  BouteW s “ English  Heraldry , ” No.  382)  201 

1 19.  Seal  of  William  de  la  Pole  duke  of  Suffolk,  1448  202 

120.  Seal  of  John  Nevill  lord  Montagu,  1461  203 

121.  Seal  of  William  lord  Hastings,  c.  1461  204 

122.  Seal  of  John  lord  Talbot  and  Furnival,  1406  205 

123.  Seal  of  George  duke  of  Clarence  and  lord  of  Rich- 

mond, 1462,  with  black  bulls  of  Clare  supporting 
his  crested  helm  207 

124.  Seal  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick,  1401. 

( From  BouteW  s “ English  Heraldry ,”  No.  448)  208 

125.  Seal  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick  and 

of  Albemarle  and  lord  Despenser,  1421  209 

126.  Seal  of  Edmund  duke  of  Somerset  for  the  town  of 

Bayeux,  c.  1445.  ( From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Arts”  vol.  xlv.  234)  210 

127.  Seal  of  Cecily  Nevill,  wife  of  Richard  duke  of  York 

and  mother  of  King  Edward  IV,  1461.  {From 
“ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  235)  212 

128.  Arms  and  supporters,  a dragon  and  a greyhound,  of 

King  Henry  VII  in  King’s  College  chapel  at  Cam- 
bridge. {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  J.  Palmer 
Clarke ) 213 

129.  Seal  of  the  Mayoralty  of  Calais.  {From  (iArchaeo- 

logia”  vol.  liii.  327)  215 

130.  Seal  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford  with  banners  of 

Heytesbury  and  Hussey  or  Hornet,  c.  1420  216 

13 1.  Knights  with  banners,  from  an  illumination  220 

132.  Seal  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford  with  banners.  {From 

BouteW  s “ English  Heraldry”  No.  391)  221 

133.  Part  of  the  seal  of  Margaret  lady  Hungerford,  with 

impaled  banner  held  up  by  a lion.  {From  BoulelT  s 
“ English  Heraldry”  No.  406)  222 

134.  Tomb  of  Lewis  Robsart  lord  Bourchier,  K.G.  ob. 

1431,  in  Westminster  abbey  church,  with  banners 
of  arms  upheld  by  supporters.  {From  a photograph 
by  Mr.  David  Weller)  223 

135.  The  King’s  banner  or  “royal  standard”  as  now  borne  227 

136.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford, 

after  1426.  {From  “ The  Ancestor ,”  vol.  iii.)  230 

137.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Richard  Nevill  earl  of 

Salisbury,  c.  1436.  {From  “ The  Ancestor vol.  iii.)  23 1 

28 


FIG.  Page 

138.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Sir  John  Grey  of  Ruthin, 

c.  1439.  ( From  “ The  Ancestor ” vol.  iii.)  232 

139.  Standard  of  Sir  Henry  Stafford,  K.G.  c.  1475.  ( From 

BouteW s “ English  Heraldry”  No.  415)  234 

140.  Knights  with  pennons,  from  an  illumination  236 

1 4 1 . Armed  Knights  carrying  pennons,  from  an  illumina- 

tion 237 

142.  Armorial  vane  on  Etchingham  church,  Sussex.  ( From 


“ Sussex  Archceological  Collections  ” vol.  ix.  349)  240 

143.  Vane  formerly  upon  the  finial  of  the  kitchen  roof, 
Stanton  Harcourt,  Oxon.  ( From,  “ A Glossary  of 


. . . Gothic  Architecture  ” vol.  i.  505)  241 

144.  Part  of  King  Henry  VIII’s  garden  at  Hampton  Court, 

from  a contemporary  picture.  246 

145.  Part  of  King  Henry  VI  IPs  garden  at  Hampton  Court, 

from  a contemporary  picture.  247 

146.  Shield  of  Bryen  impaling  Bures,  from  a brass  in 

Acton  church,  Suffolk  252 

147.  Lion  with  a forked  tail,  from  a brass  at  Spilsby  in 

Lincolnshire,  1391  255 

148.  Shield  with  three  pheasants,  from  a brass  at  Checken- 

don,  Oxon,  1404  256 

149.  Shield  of  the  arms  of  Sir  Humphrey  Littlebury,  from 

his  effigy  at  Holbeach  in  Lincolnshire,  c.  1360,  with 
fine  examples  of  heraldic  leopards.  ( From  a pho- 
tograph by  Mr.  E.  M.  Beloe , F.S.A.)  257 

150.  Early  and  modern  versions  of  ermine-tails.  ( From 

“ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  236)  258 

15 1.  Early  and  modern  versions  of  vair.  ( From  Bou- 

telTs  “ English  Heraldry”  Nos.  62,  61)  258 

152.  The  Garter,  from  the  brass  of  Thomas  lord  Camoys, 

K.G.  at  Trotton  in  Sussex  261 

153.  Pewter  medallion  with  Edward  prince  of  Wales,  now 

in  the  British  Museum.  ( From  “ Archaeologia” 
vol.  xxxi.  141)  262 

154.  Shield  of  arms  encircled  by  the  Garter,  from  the 

brass  of  Thomas  lord  Camoys,  ob.  1419.  ( From 

“ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  237)  264 

155.  Shields  encircled  by  the  Garter  and  a scroll,  from  the 

brass  of  bishop  Hallam  {ob.  1416)  at  Constance. 
{From  “ Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts”  vol.  xlv.  237)  265 

156.  Royal  arms  of  King  Henry  VII  within  the  Garter,  of 


29 


List  of 
Illustrations 


List  of  FIG- 
Illustrations 

1 57- 

158. 

IS9- 

160. 

161. 

162. 

163. 

164. 

165. 

166. 

167. 

168. 

169. 

170. 

171. 


page 

English  work,  from  the  King’s  tomb  by  Torregiano 
at  Westminster.  ( F rom  a photograph  by  Mr.  David, 


Weller)  266 

Arms  of  St.  George  within  the  Garter,  from  the  brass 
of  Sir  Thomas  Bullen,  K.G.  earl  of  Wiltshire  and 
Ormond,  1538,  at  Hever  in  Kent  267 

Crowned  effigy  of  Queen  Eleanor  at  Westminster  270 
Crowned  effigy  of  Queen  Joan  at  Canterbury  271 

Helm  and  crest,  and  bust,  of  Richard  Beauchamp 
earl  of  Warwick,  ob . 1439,  from  his  gilt-latten 
effigy  at  Warwick.  ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental 
Effigies  ”)  _ 274 

Effigy  of  a lady,  c.  1250,  in  Scarcliffe  church,  Derby- 
shire. ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies ”)  275 

Effigy  of  a lady  in  Staindrop  church,  Durham. 

( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies")  276 

Thomas  earl  of  Arundel,  ob.  1416,  from  his  alabaster 
effigy  at  Arundel.  ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental 
Effigies")  277 


Joan  Beaufort,  countess  of  Westmorland,  ob.  1440, 
from  her  alabaster  effigy  in  Staindrop  church,  Dur- 


ham. ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies")  278 
William  FitzAlan,  earl  of  Arundel  ( ob . 1487)  from  his 
effigy  at  Arundel.  ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental 
Effigies")  279 

Joan  countess  of  Arundel,  from  her  effigy  at  Arundel. 

( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies")  280 

John  Holand  duke  of  Exeter,  ob.  1447,  from  his  effigy 
at  St.  Katharine’s  hospital,  Regent’s  Park  282 

Head  of  a duchess  of  Exeter,  from  the  monument  at 
St.  Katharine’s  hospital,  Regent’s  Park  283 

Alice  duchess  of  Suffolk,  ob.  1475,  from  her  alabaster 
effigy  in  Ewelme  church,  Qxon.  ( From  Hollis's 
“ Monumental  Effigies")  284 

Armorial  ensigns  and  badges  of  the  lady  Margaret 
Beaufort  from  the  gatehouse  of  her  foundation  of 
Christ’s  college,  Cambridge.  ( From  a photograph 
by  Mr.  J.  Palmer  Clarke)  286 

Arms  of  the  foundress,  the  lady  Margaret  Beaufort, 
with  yale  supporters,  from  the  base  of  an  oriel  in 
Christ’s  college,  Cambridge.  ( From  a photograph 
by  Mr.  J.  Palmer  Clarke)  287 


30 


fig.  page 

172.  Armorial  panel  on  the  gatehouse  of  St.  John’s  college, 

Cambridge.  ( From  a photograph  by  Mr.  J . Palmer 
Clarke)  289 

173.  King  Henry  IV  from' his  alabaster  effigy  in  Canter- 

bury cathedral  church.  ( From  Stothard's  “ Monu- 
mental Effigies”)  291 

174.  King  Henry  III  from  his  gilt-latten  effigy  at  West- 

minster 292 

175.  King  Edward  II  from  his  alabaster  effigy  at  Glouces- 

ter. ( From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies ”)  293 

176.  Crowned  initials  of  King  Henry  VII  from  his  Lady 

chapel  at  Westminster.  ( From  a photograph  by 
Mr.  David  Weller)  294 

1 77.  Thomas  Howard  third  duke  of  Norfolk  (1473  ?— 1554) 

with  the  collar  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  from  the 
picture  by  Holbein  at  Windsor  Castle.  ( From 
Gardiner's  “ Student's  History  of  England”  p.  410)  295 

178.  Collars  of  SS  296 

179.  Collar  of  SS.  from  the  effigy  of  William  lord  Bardolf, 

ob.  1441,  at  Dennington  in  Suffolk.  ( From  Stoth- 
ard's “ Monumental  Effigies”)  297 


180.  Spandrel  of  the  tomb  of  Oliver  Groos  esquire  (ob. 

1439)  in  Sloley  church,  Norfolk,  with  collar  of  SS  301 

1 81.  Collars  of  SS  from  the  effigy  of  Queen  Joan  at  Canter- 

bury, and  of  Robert  lord  Hungerford  at  Salisbury. 


(From  Stothard's  “ Monumental  Effigies”)  303 

182.  Collars  of  suns  and  roses  from  the  effigy  of  a knight  at 

Aston,  Warwickshire,  and  the  effigy  of  Sir  Robert 
Harcourt,  K.G.  1471  at  Stanton  Harcourt,  Oxon. 
(From  Hollis's  “ Monumental  Effigies”)  305 

183.  Sir  Thomas  More  wearing  the  collar  of  SS  : from  an 

original  portrait  painted  by  Holbein  in  1527,  belong- 
ing to  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Huth.  (From  Gardiner's 
“Student's  History  of  England”  p.  387)  307 

184.  Head  of  the  effigy  in  Ripon  Minster  of  Sir  Thomas 

Markenfield  with  livery  collar  of  park-palings. 
(From  a drawing  by  Mr.  Roland  Paul , F.S.A.)  310 

185.  Thomas  lord  Berkeley  (ob.  1417)  with  a collar  of  mer- 

maids, from  his  brass  at  Wootton-under-Edge, 
Gloucestershire.  (From  Hollis's  “Monumental 
Effigies”)  ' 311 

186.  Silver  badge  belonging  to  the  duke  of  Northumber- 

land. (From  a drawing  by  Mr.  C.  Praetorius,  F.S.A.)  312 


31 


List  of 
Illustrations 


List  of 
Illustrations 


FIG. 

187.  Waits’  Collars  of  Exeter,  King’s  Lynn,  and  Norwich 

188.  Part  of  an  embroidered  altar  frontal  with  a rebus  at 

Baunton  in  Gloucestershire.  {From  a photograph 
hy  Mr.  G.  Clinch) 

189.  Carved  panel  with  the  crowned  arms,  supporters, 

and  badges  of  King  Henry  VIII  at  New  Hall  in 
Essex.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  Fred  Spalding ) 

190.  Paving  tile  with  arms  and  initials  of  John  Lyte  {c. 

1 535)5  from  Marten  church,  Wilts.  {From  a draw- 
ing by  Mr.  C.  Praetorius,  F.S.A .) 

191.  Arms  with  crested  helm  and  badge  (a  blazing  ragged- 

staff)  of,  apparently,  Sir  John  Guldeford  of  Benen- 
den,  ob.  1565,  in  East  Guldeford  church,  Sussex. 
{From  a photograph  by  Mr.  Aymer  V allance , M.A., 
F.S.A.) 

192.  Part  of  a bed-hanging  embroidered  with  the  arms  of 

Henry  and  Elizabeth  Wentworth,  c.  1560,  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  Sir  A.  W.  Franks,  K.C.B. 

193.  Arms  of  Cotes,  from  a mazer  print  of  1585-6.  {From 

“ Archaeologia,”  vol.  1.  174) 

194.  Shield  from  the  tomb  of  Margaret  countess  of  Len- 

nox, ob.  1578,  in  Westminster  abbey  church.  {From 
a photograph  by  Mr.  David  Weller) 

195.  Achievement  of  arms  from  the  monument  of  Sir 

Richard  Pecksall,  ob.  1571,  in  Westminster  abbey 
church.  {From  a photograph  by  Mr.  David  Weller) 

196.  Obverse  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Republic  of  England, 

Scotland,  and  Ireland,  1655  (reduced) 

197.  Arms,  etc.  of  the  Trinity  House,  London.  From  a 

woodcarving,  c.  1670,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum 

198.  Limewood  carving  with  the  arms  and  crest  of  the  Tre- 

vor family,  c.  1700,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum 

199.  Part  of  the  carved  oak  ceiling  of  the  chapel,  formerly 

the  hall,  of  Auckland  castle,  Durham,  with  the 
arms  of  bishop  John  Cosin.  Date  1662-4.  {From 
a photograph  by  Mr.  H.  Kilburn  in  “ Journal  of  the 
Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects ,”  3rd  S.  vol.  iv. 
272) 

Chronological  Series  of  Illustrations 

32 


page 
3 ‘4 

320 

333 

334 

339 

342 

343 

344 

345 

348 

349 

351 

352 
354 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

Defects  of  Modern  Heraldic  Decoration  ; Appeal 
to  First  Principles;  English  versus  Foreign 
Sources;  Definition  of  Heraldry;  Modes  of 
Display ; Colours  and  Furs ; Formation  of  Arms ; 
Divisions  of  the  Shield ; Early  Authorities : 
Seals,  Monuments,  Buildings,  Wills  and  Inven- 
tories, Rolls  of  Arms. 

To  those  who  have  given  attention  to  the 
study  of  ancient  heraldry  few  things  are 
more  surprising  than  the  imperfect  under- 
standing of  its  true  principles  displayed  in 
their  works  by  so  many  artists  and  crafts- 
men of  every  degree.  Year  after  year,  in 
paintings  and  sculpture  at  the  Royal 
Academy  and  other  exhibitions,  in  the 
architecture  and  decorations  of  our 
churches  and  public  buildings,  on  monu- 
ments, on  plate,  jewellery,  and  ornaments 
of  all  kinds,  the  attempt  to  introduce 
armorial  accessories,  even  by  some  of  our 
best  artists,  is  almost  always  a failure. 

In  so  recent  a work  as  the  national 
memorial  to  Queen  Victoria  before  Buck- 

33 


c 


Introduction  ingham  Palace,  the  shields  for  Scotland 
in  the  frieze  of  the  pedestal  bear  the  ram- 
pant lion  only,  and  the  distinctive  double 
tressure  is  again  omitted  in  the  Scottish 
quarter  of  the  royal  arms  behind  the  figure 
of  Victory.  The  sides  of  the  pedestal  also 
bear  fanciful  shields  of  arms,  in  the  one  case 
with  three  lamps,  in  the  other  with  some  al- 
legorical device,  charged  on  bends  sinister  ! 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  fault 
appears  to  be  not  altogether  that  of  the 
artist  or  craftsman,  but  should  rather  be 
ascribed  to  the  disregard  of  the  principles 
and  usages  of  true  armory  that  pervades 
so  much  of  the  printed  literature  to  which 
men  naturally  turn  for  information. 

He,  however,  who  would  know  some- 
thing about  heraldic  art  must  go  behind 
the  books  to  better  sources  of  information, 
and  rid  himself  once  and  for  all  of  the 
modern  cast-iron  rules  that  cramp  all 
attempts  to  improve  matters.  He  will 
then  soon  find  himself  revelling  in  the 
delightful  freedom  and  playful  common- 
sense  of  medieval  armory  when  it  was  still 
a living  art,  and  a science  too,  utilized  for 
artistic  purposes  by  every  class  of  worker 
and  unencumbered  by  the  ridiculous  con- 
ceits of  Tudor  and  later  times. 


34 


The  appeal,  moreover,  should  largely  be  Introduction 
confined,  if  one  would  have  what  is  best, 
to  our  own  land.  In  the  beginning 
heraldry  was  much  the  same  in  most 
European  countries,  but  in  course  of  time 
foreign  armory  became  complicated  by 
needless  subdivisions  and  new  methods  of 
expression  and  combination.  It  would 
indeed  be  foolish  to  maintain  that  nothing 
can  be  learnt  from  foreign  sources,  but  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  study  English  heraldry 
should  come  first.  Not  only  is  it  charac- 
terized by  a beautiful  simplicity  which 
continued  practically  unchanged  until  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  no 
other  country  outside  England  possesses 
such  a wealth  of  examples  of  its  various 
applications,  and  they  lie  immediately  to 
hand  for  purposes  of  study  and  comparison. 

Moreover,  English  heraldry  so  fully  illus- 
trates the  general  principles  followed  in 
other  countries  that  it  is  unnecessary  at 
first  to  go  further  afield. 

Heraldry,  or  armory  as  it  was  anciently 
called,  is  a symbolical  and  pictorial  lan- 
guage of  uncertain  and  disputed  origin, 
which,  by  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  had  already  been  reduced  to  a 
science  with  a system,  classification,  and 

35 


Introduction  nomenclature  of  its  own.  The  artistic  de- 
vices known  as  arms,  which  may  be  formed 
by  proper  combinations  of  the  colours,  or- 
dinaries, and  figures  that  represent  the  let- 


Fig.  i.  Tile  with  the  arms  of  King  Henry  III,  c.  1255, 
from  the  chapter-house  of  Westminster  abbey. 

ters  of  this  language,  had  each  their  signifi- 
cance, and  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as 
the  hereditary  possession  of  some  person, 
family,  dignity,  or  office. 

The  display  of  arms  was  restricted 

36 


primarily  to  shields  and  banners  but  occa-  Introduction 
sionally  to  horse-trappers  (pis.  xi  B and 
xii  b)  and  such  garments  as  jupes,  gowns, 
and  mantles.  Later  on  heraldry  came  also 


Fig.  2.  Shield  of  the  arms  of  St.  Edward,  c.  1259,  in 
the  quire  of  Westminster  abbey  church.  An  early 
instance  of  the  use  of  heraldry  in  architecture. 

to  be  used  ornamentally,  either  upon  shields 
or  without  them,  in  all  kinds  of  ways,  in 
architecture  and  on  monuments,  on  tiles 
and  in  glazing,  in  woodcarvings  and  in 
paintings,  in  woven  stuffs  and  embroideries, 
in  jewellery  and  on  seals. 

The  colours  used  in  heraldry  are  red, 
blue,  green,  purple,  and  black,  or  to 

37 


Introduction  give  them  their  old  names,  gules,  azure, 
vert,  purpure,  and  sable;  combined  with 
the  yellow  of  gold  and  the  whiteness 
of  silver.  Orange  was  never  used,  proba- 


Fig.  3.  Heraldry  on  the  gatehouse  of  Kirkham  priory, 
Yorkshire,  built  between  1289  and  1296. 

bly  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  finding 
a stable  pigment.  It  was  soon  found  that 
for  brilliancy  of  effect  the  use  of  gold  or 
silver  with  a colour  was  preferable  to  that 

38 


of  colour  with  colour  or  metal  with  metal ; Introduction 
two  colours  are  therefore  found  together 
or  superposed  only  under  certain  con- 
ditions, and  the  same  applies  to  the  two 
metals. 

Imitations  of  two  furs,  ermine  and  vair, 
were  also  used  : the  one  of  white  flecked 
with  little  black  tails ; the  other  of  alter- 
nating oblong  patches  of  white  and  blue, 
square  at  the  top  and  rounded  at  the 
bottom,  to  represent  grey  squirrels’  skins. 

(See  figs.  1 5 1 , 152.)  If  vair  were 

coloured  other  than  white  and  blue,  the 
resultant  was  called  vairy.  There  is  also 
known  a black  fur  with  silver  ermine-tails. 

There  were  never  any  exact  rules  as  to 
the  particular  tint  of  the  colour  employed, 
that  being  simply  a matter  of  taste.  Thus 
blue  may  range  from  a full  indigo  almost 
to  Cambridge-blue,  and  red  from  a bright 
scarlet,  through  vermilion,  to  a dull 
brick  colour,  and  so  on ; and  it  is  sur- 
prising to  find  how  well  quiet  colours  blend 
together. 

In  the  formation  of  arms  the  mere  com- 
binations of  colours  and  metals  produced 
by  vertical,  horizontal,  or  other  divisions 
of  the  shield  were  soon  exhausted,  as  were 
quarters,  checkers,  etc.  There  accordingly 

39 


Introduction  grew  quite  naturally  the  further  use  of 
applied  strips  or  bands  based  upon  such 
divisions. 

Thus  the  vertical  parting  of  a metal  and 


a colour  known  as  party  produced  the  pale, 
and  a horizontal  division  the  fesse  or  bar, 
and  these  combined  to  form  the  cross  sug- 
gested by  the  quarterly  lines.  An  oblique  or 
slanting  parting  gave  rise  to  the  bend,  and 
the  crossing  of  two  such  produced  the  St. 
Andrew’s  cross  or  saltire.  A combination 
40 


of  the  lines  of  a saltire  with  a q&arterly  Introduction 
division  produced  the  varied  field  called 
gyronny.  The  border  almost  suggested 
itself.  A cutting  off  of  the  upper  half  or 


Party-bendwise 


Party-saltirewise 


Gyronny 


Bend 


Saltii 


Border 


head  of  the  shield  yielded  the  chief,  and  of 
a fourth  part  the  quarter.  One  other  of 
these  applied  pieces,  or  ordinaries  as  they 
were  called,  was  the  cheveron,  formed  of 
two  strips  issuing  from  the  lower  edges  of 
the  shield  and  meeting  in  a point  in  the 
middle,  like  the  cheverons  forming  the  roof 

41 


Introduction  timbers  of  a house.  Another  ordinary 
was  the  pile,  which  was  often  threefold 
with  lines  converging  towards  the  base  as 
in  fig.  72.  Sometimes  a shield  was  charged 


with  one  of  smaller  size  called  a scutcheon, 
and  the  middle  of  this  was  occasionally  cut 
out  to  form  a voided  scutcheon  or  orle. 
Flanches,  as  they  are  called,  are  very  rarely 
found ; they  are  formed  by  drawing  in- 
curving lines  within  each  side  of  the  shield. 
An  even  series  of  pales  yielded  a vertical 
42 


striping  called  paly,  and  of  piles,  pily,  while  Introduction 
an  even  number  of  bars  became  barry. 

Undulated  or  waved  bars  formed  wavy,  and 
sometimes  paly  and  pily  stripes  were  also 


Bendy  Cheeky  Lozengy 


waved  (fig.  19).  In  early  examples  the 
bend  was  often  bended  or  curved.  Bends 
are  so  represented  in  one  of  the  shields  in 
Westminster  abbey  (fig.  4),  in  some  of  the 
shields  over  the  nave  arcades  in  York 
minster,  and  on  a number  of  monumental 
effigies.  A narrower  bend  which  overlaid 

43 


Introduction  everything  was  known  as  a baston  (see  fig. 

60).  A number  of  narrow  bends  produced 
bendy,  but  the  lines  were  then  straight. 
A field  divided  into  squares  or  checkers 


Fig.  4.  Shield  with  curved  bend  or  baston 
of  Henry  de  Laci  earl  of  Lincoln,  c.  1259, 
in  the  quire  of  Westminster  abbey  church. 

formed  cheeky,  and  when  divided  into  what 
are  now  called  lozenges  it  became  lozengy. 
Pales,  fesses,  crosses,  saltires,  borders,  and 
cheverons  sometimes  had  their  edges  en- 
grailed by  taking  out  of  them,  as  it  were, 
a continuous  series  of  bites  separated 
by  sharp  points,  and  the  lower  edge  of  a 

44 


chief  or  the  inner  margin  of  a border  was  Introduction 

often  indented  like  the  edge  of  a saw;  but 

in  early  heraldry  engrailing  and  indenting 

were  interchangeable  terms.  An  indented 

fesse  was  anciently  called  a daunce.  Cheve- 

rons,  fesses,  bars,  etc.  were  occasionally 

battled,  through  the  upper  line  being 

formed  into  battlements.  A fesse  was 

often  placed  between  two  cheverons,  as  in 

the  well-known  arms  of  FitzWalter;  or 

between  two  very  narrow  bars  called 

cotises,  or  pairs  of  cotises  called  gemell 

bars.  Cheverons,  bends,  and  pales  were 

also  sometimes  cotised.  Cotises  were 

often  of  a tincture  different  from  that 

of  the  ordinary  which  they  accompanied, 

and  sometimes  indented  or  dancetty  as  in 

the  arms  of  Clopton  (fig.  5)  and  Gonvile. 

The  ground  or  field  could  be  relieved  by 
the  use  of  vair  or  ermine,  or  by  the  addition 
of  fretting  or  trellis  work  or  other  simple 
means.  It  was  also  not  unfrequently 
powdered  with  small  crosses,  fleurs-de-lis, 
or  billets  ; often  in  conjunction  with  a larger 
charge  like  a cinqfoil  or  a lion. 

Almost  from  the  beginning  every  kind 
of  device  was  charged  or  painted  upon 
shields,  either  singly  or  in  multiple,  and 
upon  or  about  such  ordinaries  as  crosses, 

45 


Introduction  cheverons,  and  fesses.  Birds,  beasts,  and 
fishes,  and  parts  of  them,  like  heads,  or 
feet,  or  wings  ; flowers,  fruits,  and  leaves  ; 
suns,  moons  or  crescents,  and  stars  ; fleurs- 
de-lis,  crosses,  billets,  roundels,  rings,  etc. 
all  were  pressed  into  the  service.  The 


Fig.  5.  Arms  of  Clopton,  sable  a bend  silver 
and  two  cotises  dancetty  gold , from  a brass 
c.  1420  at  Long  Melford  in  Suffolk. 

great  rule  as  to  colour  held  good  as  regards 
charges,  and  it  was  not  permissible  to  paint 
a red  rose  upon  blue  or  a gold  star  upon 
silver;  but  a red  rose  upon  gold  or  a silver 
star  upon  blue  was  quite  right. 

It  has  however  been  lawful  at  all  times 
to  place  an  ordinary,  such  as  a fesse  or  a 
46 


cheveron,  and  whether  charged  or  not,  Introduction 
upon  a parti-coloured  field  like  quarterly, 
cheeky,  paly,  or  barry,  or  upon  vair  or 
vairy.  A quarter,  or  a chief,  or  a border, 
without  reference  to  its  colour,  can  also  be 
added  to  any  such  field. 

Conversely,  a parti-coloured  cross,  fesse, 
or  charge  of  any  kind,  is  allowable  upon  a 
plain  field. 

In  the  Great  Roll  of  arms,  temp.  Edward 
II,  are  instances  of  two  shields,  in  the  one 
case  of  a red  lion,  and  in  the  other  of 
a red  fer-de-moline,  on  fields  party  gold 
and  vert ; also  of  a silver  leopard  upon 
a field  party  gold  and  gules,  and  of  three 
red  lions  upon  party  gold  and  azure.  Like- 
wise of  a shield  with  three  lions  ermine 
upon  party  azure  and  gules,  and  of  another 
with  wavy  red  bars  upon  a field  party 
gold  and  silver. 

In  the  arms,  too,  of  Eton  College 
granted  by  King  Henry  VI  in  1448-9 
three  silver  lilies  on  a black  field  are  com- 
bined with  a chief  party  azure  and  gules, 
with  a gold  leopard  on  the  red  half  and  a 
gold  fleur-de-lis  on  the  blue  half.  King 
Henry  also  granted  in  1449  these  arms, 
party  cheveronwise  gules  and  sable  three  gold 
keys , to  Roger  Keys,  clerk,  for  his  services 

47 


Introduction  in  connexion  with  the  building  of  Eton 
College,  and  to  his  brother  Thomas  Keys 
and  his  descendants. 

Shields  with  quarterly  fields  often  had  a 
single  charge  in  the  quarter,  like  the  well- 
known  molet  of  the  Veres,  or  the  eagle  of 
Phelip. 

Arms  were  sometimes  counter-coloured, 
by  interchanging  the  tinctures  of  the  whole 
or  parts  of  an  ordinary  or  charge  or  charges 
overlying  a parti-coloured  field.  This  often 
has  a very  striking  effect,  as  in  the  arms  of 
St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital,  which  are  party 
silver  and  sable  a cheveron  counter-coloured , or 
th  ose  of  Geoffrey  Chaucer,  who  bore  party 
silver  and  gules  a bend  counter-coloured.  Sir 
Robert  Farnham  bore  quarterly  silver  and 
azure  jour  crescents  counter -coloured,  or  as 
the  Great  Roll  describes  them,  ‘de  fun  en 
l’autre.’  The  town  of  Southampton  like- 
wise bears  for  its  arms  gules  a chief  silver 
with  three  roses  counter-coloured. 

In  drawing  parti-coloured  fields  it  is  as 
well  to  consider  what  are  the  old  rules  with 
regard  to  them.  In  the  early  rolls  a field 
barry  of  silver  and  azure,  or  of  gold  and 
sable,  is  often  described  as  of  six  pieces, 
that  is  with  three  coloured  bars  alternating 
with  three  of  the  metal,  though  barry 
48 


I 


PLATE  I.  ARMS  OF  MILTON  ABBEY  FROM  A WINDOW  IN  IBBERTON  CHURCH 
DORSET,  C.  1475  (FROM  ARCHAEOLOGIA,  VOL.  XLVII.) 


of  eight  and  even  ten  pieces  is  found.  Introduction 
Paly  of  six  pieces  is  also  a normal 
number.  But  the  number  of  pieces 
must  always  be  even,  or  the  alternate 
pieces  will  become  bars  or  pales.  The 
number  of  squares  in  each  line  of  a 
checkered  field  or  ordinary  is  also  another 
important  matter.  Six  or  eight  form  the 
usual  basis  for  the  division  of  a field,  but 
the  seven  on  the  seal  of  the  Earl  of 
Warenne  and  Surrey  attached  to  the 
Barons’  Letter  of  1 300-1  is  not  without  its 
artistic  advantages.  On  an  ordinary,  such 
as  a fesse  or  cross,  there  should  be  at  least 
two  rows  of  checkers.  Here,  however,  as 
in  other  cases,  much  depends  upon  the  size 
of  the  shield,  and  a large  one  could  ob- 
viously carry  with  advantage  either  on 
field  or  ordinary  more  squares  than  a small 
one  without  infringing  any  heraldic  law. 

Besides  the  plain  cross  familiar  to  most 
of  us  in  the  arms  of  St.  George,  and  the 
similar  form  with  engrailed  edges,  there  is 
a variety  known  as  the  ragged  cross, 
derived  from  two  crossed  pieces  of  a tree 
with  lopped  branches.  This  is  often  used 
in  the  so-called  arms  of  Our  Lord,  showing 
the  instruments  of  His  Passion,  or  in  com- 
positions associated  therewith,  as  in  the 

49 


D 


Introduction  cross  with  the  three  crowned  nails  forming 
the  arms  of  the  town  of  Colchester. 

Several  other  forms  of  cross  have  also 
been  used.  The  most  popular  of  these 
is  that  with  splayed  or  spreading  ends, 
often  split  into  three  divisions,  called  the 
cross  paty,  which  appears  in  the  arms  of 
St.  Edward  (see  figs.  2 and  43).  It  is 
practically  the  same  as  the  cross  called 
patonce,  flory,  or  fleury,  these  being  names 
applied  to  mere  variations  of  drawing.  The 
cross  with  les  chefs  flurettes  of  the  Great 
Roll  seems  to  have  been  one  flowered,  or 
with  fleurs-de-lis,  at  the  ends. 

Another  favourite  cross  was  that  with 
forked  or  split  ends,  formed  of  a fer-de- 
moline  or  mill-rind,  sometimes  called  a 
cross  fourchee,  or,  when  the  split  ends  were 
coiled,  a cross  recercelee.  The  arms  of 
Antony  Bek  bishop  of  Durham  (1284- 
1310)  and  patriarch  of  Jerusalem  were 
gules  a fer-de-moline  ermine , and  certain 
vestments  “woven  with  a cross  of  his  arms 
which  are  called  ferrum  molendini ” passed 
to  his  cathedral  church  at  his  death.  On 
his  seal  of  dignity  the  bishop  is  shown  act- 
ually wearing  such  a vestment  of  his  arms. 

The  tau  or  St.  Anthony’s  cross  also 
occurs  in  some  late  fifteenth  century  arms. 
50 


The  small  crosses  with  which  the  field  Introduction 
of  a shield  was  sometimes  powdered  were 
usually  what  are  now  called  crosslets,  but 
with  rounded  instead  of  the  modern  squared 
angles,  as  in  the  Beauchamp  arms  (fig.  14), 
and  a field  powdered  with  these  was  simply 
called  crusily.  But  the  powdering  some- 
times consisted  of  crosses  paty,  or  formy 
as  they  were  also  styled,  as  in  the  arms  of 
Berkeley,  or  of  the  cross  with  crutched 
ends  called  a cross  potent,  like  that  in  the 
arms  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem.  These 
crosses  often  had  a spiked  foot,  as  if  for 
fixing  them  in  the  ground,  and  were  then 
further  described  as  fitchy  or  crosses 
fixable. 

Since  the  elucidation  of  the  artistic  rather 
than  the  scientific  side  of  heraldry  is  the 
object  of  this  present  work,  it  is  advisable 
to  show  how  it  may  best  be  studied. 

The  artistic  treatment  of  heraldry  can 
only  be  taught  imperfectly  by  means  of 
books,  and  it  is  far  better  that  the  student 
should  be  his  own  teacher  by  consulting 
such  good  examples  of  heraldic  art  as  may 
commonly  be  found  nigh  at  hand.  He 
may,  however,  first  equip  himself  to  ad- 
vantage with  a proper  grasp  of  the  subject 
by  reading  carefully  the  admirable  article 

51 


Introduction  on  Heraldry,  by  Mr.  Oswald  Barron,  in 
the  new  eleventh  edition  of  The  Encyclo- 
pedia Britannic  a. 

The  earliest  and  best  of  artistic  authorities 
are  heraldic  seals.  Thesecameintocommon 
use  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century, 
much  at  the  same  time  that  armory  itself 
became  a thing  of  life,  and  they  were  con- 
stantly being  engraved  for  men,  and  even 
for  women,  who  bore  and  used  arms,  and 
for  corporate  bodies  entitled  to  have  seals. 

Moreover,  since  every  seal  was  pro- 
duced under  the  direction  of  its  owner  and 
continually  used  by  him,  the  heraldry  dis- 
played on  seals  has  a personal  interest  of 
the  greatest  value,  as  showing  not  only 
what  arms  the  owner  bore,  but  how  they 
were  intended  to  be  seen. 

From  seals  may  be  learnt  the  different 
shapes  of  shields,  and  the  times  of  their 
changes  of  fashion  ; the  methods  of  depict- 
ing crests ; the  origin  and  use  of  sup- 
porters; the  treatment  of  the  ‘words’  and 
‘reasons’  now  called  mottoes;  the  various 
waysof  combining  armstoindicatealliances, 
kinships,  and  official  connexions;  and  the 
many  other  effective  ways  in  which  heraldry 
maybe  treated  artistically  without  breaking 
the  rigid  rules  of  its  scientific  side. 

52 


Seals,  unfortunately,  owing  to  their  in-  Introduction 
accessibility,  are  not  so  generally  available 
for  purposes  of  study  as  some  other 
authorities.  They  are  consequently  com- 
paratively little  known.  Fine  series,  both 
of  original  impressions  and  casts,  are  on 
exhibition  in  the  British  and  the  Victoria 
and  Albert  museums,  and  in  not  a few 
local  museums  also,*  but  the  great  collec- 
tion in  the  British  Museum  is  practically 
the  only  public  one  that  can  be  utilized  to 
any  extent  by  the  heraldic  student,  and 
then  under  the  limitation  of  applying  for 
each  seal  by  a separate  ticket. 

The  many  examples  of  armorial  seals 
illustrated  in  the  present  work  will  give 
the  student  a good  idea  of  their  importance 
and  high  artistic  excellence. 

Next  to  the  heraldry  on  seals,  that  dis- 
played on  tombs  and  monuments,  and  in 
combination  with  architecture,  may  be 
studied,  and,  of  course,  with  greater  ease, 
since  such  a number  of  examples  is  avail- 
able. Many  a village  church  is  compara- 
tively as  rich  in  heraldry  as  the  abbey 

* It  would  surely  not  be  a matter  of  much  diffi- 
culty or  expense  to  equip  the  leading  schools  of  art 
in  this  country  with  sets  of  casts  of  these  beautiful 
objects. 


S3 


Introduction  churches  of  Westminster  and  St.  Albans, 
or  the  minsters  of  Lincoln  and  York  and 
Beverley. 

It  is  to  the  country  church,  too,  that  we 
may  often  look  for  lovely  examples  of  old 
heraldic  glass,  which  has  escaped  the  de- 
struction of  other  subjects  that  were  deemed 
more  superstitious  (pis.  I,  n and  hi). 

But  the  student  is  not  restricted  to 
ecclesiastical  buildings  in  his  search  for 
good  examples  of  heraldry. 

Inasmuch  as  there  never  was  such  a 
thing  as  an  ecclesiastical  style,  it  was  quite 
immaterial  to  the  medieval  master  masons 
whether  they  were  called  in  to  build  a 
church  or  a gatehouse,  a castle  or  a mansion, 
a barn  or  a bridge.  The  master  carpenter 
worked  in  the  same  way  upon  a rood  loft  or 
a pew  end  as  upon  the  screen  or  the  coffer 
in  the  house  of  the  lord  ; the  glazier  filled 
alike  with  his  coloured  transparencies  the 
bay  of  the  hall,  the  window  of  the  chapel, 
or  that  of  the  minster  of  the  abbey;  and 
the  tiler  sold  his  wares  to  sacrist,  church- 
warden, or  squire  alike. 

The  applications  of  heraldry  to  architec- 
ture are  so  numerous  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
deal  with  them  in  any  degree  of  connexion. 

Shields  of  arms,  badges,  crests,  and 

54 


PLATE  II.  SHIELDS  IN  STAINED  GLASS  OF  THE  14TH  CENTURY  WITH  THE  ARMS  OF  (l)  JOHN,  EARL  OF  KENT  (2)  JOHN  OF 
GAUNT  AS  KING  OF  CASTILE,  AND  (3)  SIR  WILLIAM  ARUNDEL,  K.G.  : IN  THE  VICTORIA  AND  ALBERT  MUSEUM. 


supporters  are  freely  used  in  every  conceiv-  Introduction 
able  way,  and  on  every  reasonable  place ; 


Fig.  6.  Heraldic  candle-holder,  etc.  from  the  latten  grate 
about  the  tomb  of  King  Henry  VII  at  Westminster. 

on  gatehouses  (figs.  3,  95,  96)  and  towers, 
on  porches  and  doorways,  in  windows  and 

ss 


Introduction  on  walls,  on  plinths,  buttresses,  and  pin- 
nacles, on  cornice,  frieze,  and  parapet,  on 


chimney-pieces  (figs.  8,  94)  and  spandrels, 
on  vaults  and  roofs,  on  woodwork,  metal- 
work (figs.  6,  7),  and  furniture  of  all 
kinds,  on  tombs,  fonts,  pulpits,  screens  and 

56 


Fig.  7.  Firedog  with  armorial  bearings. 


PLATE  III.  SHIELDS  IN  STAINED  GLASS  OF  THE  14TH  CENTURY  WITH  THE  ARMS  OF  (l)  MOWBRAY  (2)  BEAUCHAMP, 
AND  (3)  AUDLEY:  IN  THE  VICTORIA  AND  ALBERT  MUSEUM. 


Fig.  8.  Chimney-piece  in  Tattershall  castle,  Lincolnshire,  built  by  Ralph  lord  Cromwell  between 
1433  and  1455,  with  shields  of  arms  and  treasurer’s  purse  and  motto. 


coffers,  in  painting,  in  glass,  and  on  the  tiles  Introduction 
of  the  floor  (figs,  i,  9,  14). 

Though  actual  examples  are  now  rare, 


Fig.  10.  Seal  of  Richard  duke  of  Gloucester,  as 
admiral  of  England  in  Dorset  and  Somerset 
(1462),  with  arms  on  the  mainsail  of  the  ship. 

we  know  from  pictures  and  monuments, 
and  the  tantalizing  descriptions  in  inven- 
tories, to  how  large  an  extent  heraldry 
was  used  in  embroidery  and  woven  work, 
on  carpets  and  hangings,  on  copes  and 

59 


Introduction  frontals,  on  gowns,  mantles  and  jupes,  on 
trappers  and  in  banners,  and  even  on  the 
sails  of  ships  (fig.  io). 

Wills  and  inventories  also  tell  us  that  in 


Fig.  ii.  Heraldic  buckle  from  the  effigy  of 
Robert  lord  Hungerford  ( ob . 1459)  in 
Salisbury  cathedral  church. 


Fig.  12.  Heraldic  buckle  from  the  effigy  of 
William  lord  Bardolf  (ob.  1441)  in  Den- 
nington  church,  Suffolk. 


jewellery  and  goldsmiths’  work  (see  figs. 
11  and  12)  heraldry  played  a prominent 
part,  and  by  the  aid  of  enamel  it 
appeared  in  its  proper  colours,  an  ad- 
60 


vantage  not  always  attainable  otherwise  Introduction 
(fig.  13).  Beautiful  examples  of  heraldic 
shields  bright  with  enamel  occur  in  the 


Fig.  13.  Enamelled  shield  with  the  arms  of 
Ballard  on  the  print  of  a mazer  (c.  1445) 
at  All  Souls  college,  Oxford. 


abbey  church  of  Westminster  on  the  tombs 
of  King  Edward  III  and  of  William  of 
Valence,  and  on  the  tombs  at  Canterbury 
and  Warwick  respectively  of  Edward 
prince  of  Wales  and  Richard  Beauchamp 

61 


Introduction  earl  of  Warwick;  while  in  St.  George’s 
chapel  in  Windsor  castle  there  are  actually 
nearly  ninety  enamelled  stall-plates  of 
Knights  of  the  Garter  of  earlier  date  than 
Tudor  times,  extending  from  about  1390 
to  1485,  and  forming  in  themselves  a veri- 
table heraldic  storehouse  of  the  highest 
artistic  excellence.  (See  pis.  xv,  xvi.) 

Another  source  of  coloured  heraldry  is  to 
be  found  in  the  so-called  rolls  of  arms. 

While  heraldry  was  a living  art,  it 
obviously  became  necessary  to  keep  some 
record  of  the  numerous  armorial  bearings 
which  were  already  in  use,  as  well  as  of 
those  that  were  constantly  being  invented. 
This  seems  to  have  been  done  by  entering 
the  arms  on  long  rolls  of  parchment.  In 
the  earliest  examples  these  took  the  form 
of  rows  of  painted  shields,  with  the  owners’ 
names  written  over  (pi.  iv) ; but  in 
a few  rare  cases  the  blazon  or  written 
description  of  the  arms  is  also  given,  while 
other  rolls  consist  wholly  of  such  descrip- 
tions, as  in  the  well-known  Great  and 
Boroughbridge  Rolls.  These  have  a special 
value  in  supplying  the  terminology  of 
the  old  heraldry,  but  this  belongs  to  the 
science  or  grammar  and  not  the  art  of  it. 
The  pictured  rolls  on  the  other  hand  clearly 
62 


Fig.  14.  Heraldic  paving  tiles  from  Tewkesbury  abbey.  The 
three  uppermost  bear  the  arms  of  Despenser,  Berkeley,  and 
Beauchamp,  and  the  large  one  the  arms  of  Robert  Fitz- 
Hamon,  the  founder,  impaled  with  the  singular  cross  of  the 
abbey. 


Introduction  belong  to  the  artistic  side,  and  as  they  date 
from  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
onwards,  they  show  how  the  early  heralds 
from  time  to  time  drew  the  arms  they 
wished  to  record. 


\W  'PMf&iV 


fttft  U *{%\$VVIP< 


\ Mdv^taa 


w 


I 


PLATE  IV.  part  (reduced)  of  an  early  roll  of  arms  belonging 

TO  THE  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  LONDON. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SHIELD  AND  ITS  TREATMENT 

Early  Forms  of  Shields;  Later  Forms;  Shields 
of  Irregular  Outline  and  Surface;  The  Filling  of 
a Shield;  Apparent  versus  Absolute  Uniformity; 
Modern  Rules  as  to  Proportion ; the  Use 
and  Abuse  of  Quartering : its  Origin  and 

Growth  ; Differencing  of  Arms ; The  Scutcheon 
of  Ulster;  Diapering. 

From  these  preliminary  remarks  we  may 
pass  to  the  practical  consideration  of  the 
principles  of  heraldic  art. 

And  first  as  to  shields  and  their  treatment. 
The  form  of  a shield  is  in  itself  entirely 
arbitrary  and  void  of  meaning.  Although  it 
varied  from  time  to  time,  this  was  simply  a 
matter  of  fashion,  like  the  shape  of  an  arch 
or  the  pattern  of  a window.  Such  changes 
must  not,  however,  be  overlooked,  for  it 
would  be  absurd  in  actual  practice  to  use 
an  ornate  shield  of  the  style  of  the  fifteenth 
or  sixteenth  century  for  a lion  of  (say)  the 
thirteenth  century  type,  or  to  fill  a shield 
of  early  form  with  charges  characteristic  of 
a later  date. 


E 


6S 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


During  the  twelfth  century,  shields  were 
more  or  less  kite-shaped,  like  those  that 
were  actually  used,  but  in  the  thirteenth 
century  they  began  to  be  shorter  and 
straighter  across  the  top.  Good  examples 


Fig.  15.  Shield  with  rounded  corners  ( c . 1259) 
of  Richard  earl  of  Cornwall  in  the  quire  of 
Westminster  abbey  church. 

of  this  type  may  be  found  on  seals.  In 
the  aisles  behind  the  quire  of  Westminster 
abbey  church,  the  beautiful  shields  in  the 
spandrels  of  the  wall  arcade,  of  a date  not 
later  than  1259,  retain  their  rounded  upper 
corners.  (See  figs.  2 and  15.)  The  next 
66 


form,  with  the  upper  corners  square 
(figs.  16,  1 7),  came  into  vogue  in  the 
second  half  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
has  continued  always  in  use.  Owing  to  the 


Fig.  16.  Shields  of  English  work  from  the  tomb 
of  William  earl  of  Pembroke  ( ob . 1296)  in 
Westminster  abbey  church. 


elastic  way  in  which  its  curves  can  be 
slightly  altered  when  required,  it  may 
safely  be  adopted  in  general  practice.  In 
the  earliest  examples  the  curves  begin  at 
the  top,  or  just  below,  but  later  on  they 
were  so  struck  as  to  increase  the  area 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


of  the  lower  part  of  the  shield  in  order 
to  make  more  room  for  the  charges.  In 
some  fourteenth  century  instances  the  sides 
continue  straight  nearly  to  the  bottom,  so 
that  the  shield  is  practically  an  oblong  with 
rounded  lower  corners,  like  the  shields  of 


Fig.  i 7.  Seal  of  Hugh  Bardolf  showing  shield 
with  square  corners.  From  the  Barons* 
Letter. 

the  royal  arms  on  our  coinage  to-day 
(figs.  18  and  pi.  vi  a).  A tendency  in 
the  same  direction  is  not  uncommon 
throughout  the  fifteenth  century.  About 
the  middle  of  the  same  century  the  fash- 
ion began  to  prevail,  alongside  the  other, 
of  representing  a man’s  arms  on  the  same 
irregularly-shaped  shield  that  he  was  wont 
to  carry  in  the  jousts.  This  is  as  wide  at 
the  bottom  as  the  top,  with  its  outline 
worked  into  curves,  and  has  on  the  dexter, 
or  right-hand  side  as  borne,  a deep  notch 
68 


for  the  lance  to  rest  in  during  tilting;  the  The  Shield 
top  and  bottom  of  the  shield  are  often  sub-  treatment 
divided  into  three  or  more  lobes  or  shallow 


Fig.  18.  Seal  and  counterseal  of  Simon  lord  of  Montagu, 
with  shield  of  unusual  form  supported  by  two  bearded 
men  and  surmounted  by  the  castle  of  Corfe  of  which 
Simon  became  governor  in  1298.  The  quadrangular 
signet  displays  a griffin.  From  the  Barons’  Letter. 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


curves.  Good  examples  occur  on  seals  and 
monuments,  and  some  of  the  Garter  stall- 
plates.  (See  pis.  v a and  B ; vi  b;  xvii  ; 
and  xxiii  a.)  Shields  of  a more  ornate  form 


Fig.  19.  Shield  of  ornate  form,  from  a brass 
at  Stoke  Poges,  Bucks,  1476. 

are  occasionally  to  be  met  with,  like  an  ex- 
ample (fig.  19)  on  a brass  at  Stoke  Poges  of 
the  date  1476,  with  graceful  leaf-work  curl- 
ing over  at  the  top  and  bottom.  Shields 
similarly  ornamented  occur  on  the  door- 
70 


PLATE  V. — Examples  of  shaped  shields. 

A John  Tiptoft  earl  of  Worcester,  1449. 

B William  Herbert  earl  of  Huntingdon,  1479. 


way  of  a citizen’s  house  now  built  into  the  The  Shield 
Guildhall  at  Norwich  (fig.  20).  T and  lts 

In  the  simpler  forms  the  field  of  a shield  reatmcnt 
in  painted  representations  is  invariably 
shown  flat ; but  in  carvings,  and  occasion- 
ally on  seals,  a slight  convexity,  or  even 
concavity,  is  often  met  with,  the  artistic 
advantages  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
enlarge  upon.  In  some  of  the  later  ornate 
forms,  like  those  described  above,  the 
incurved  or  engrailed  edge  is  accompanied 
by  a field  worked  with  a series  of  ridges 
and  furrows  (figs.  21  and  23).  The 
effect  of  this  may  be  good,  but  there  is  a 
danger  of  carrying  it  to  excess  and  so  in- 
juring the  appearance  of  the  charges.  If 
the  shield  be  well  covered  by  the  bearings 
on  it,  it  is  generally  better  to  use  one  of 
simple  form  than  one  with  an  irregular 
outline  and  ridged  surface ; but  there  is, 
of  course,  no  reason  why  both  forms  should 
not  be  used  concurrently  in  architectural  or 
other  works,  as  they  sometimes  were  of  old. 

The  same  principle  as  the  ridging  of  a 
shield  to  relieve  the  plain  surface  was  also 
applied  to  the  ordinaries  upon  it.  An  early 
example  may  be  seen  upon  the  tomb  of 
queen  Eleanor  at  Westminster,  which  has 
the  bends  in  the  shields  of  Ponthieu  ridged 

71 


PLATE  VI. — Various  shapes  of  shields. 


along  the  middle  line.  The  shield  borne  The  Shield 
by  Brian  FitzAlan  {pb.  1302)  in  his  effigy  and  lts 
at  Bedale  has  the  alternate  bars  of  his  arms  reatment 
{harry  of  eight  pieces  gold  and  gules)  treated 
in  the  same  way.  Another  instance  may 


Fig.  21.  Shield  with  engrailed  edges  (c.  1520) 
from  the  chantry  chapel  of  abbot  Thomas 
Ramryge  in  St.  Albans  abbey  church. 

be  seen  on  the  effigy  of  Sir  Richard 
Whatton  (c.  1325)  at  Whatton,  Notts,  in 
which  a bend  though  charged  is  ridged. 
The  shields  on  the  tomb  of  Guy  lord 
Bryen  {ob.  1390)  at  Tewkesbury  (fig.  22) 
furnish  typical  later  examples,  while  during 
the  fifteenth  and  early  sixteenth  centuries 
instances  are  as  common  as  the  curved  and 


73 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


ridged  shields  described  above,  especially  as 
regards  crosses  and  saltires,  as  at  St.  Albans, 
the  George  Inn  at  Glastonbury  (fig.  23), 
and  elsewhere. 

In  monumental  effigies  the  shield  borne 
by  a knight  often  has  a convex  or  rounded 


Fig.  22.  Shields  with  ridged  charges,  from  the 
monument  of  Guy  lord  Bryen  ( ob . 1390)  in 
Tewkesbury  abbey  church. 


surface  (fig.  24),  and  in  late  fifteenth 
century  and  Tudor  architecture  otherwise 
flat  shields  sometimes  have  the  middle 
swelled  out,  as  on  dean  Gunthorpe’s  oriel 
at  Wells,  in  a manner  very  popular  in 
Renaissance  work.  (See  figs,  in  and  195.) 

A reference  to  a number  of  good  ancient 
examples  of  heraldic  shields  or  banners  will 
disclose  the  care  that  has  been  taken  to 
occupy  the  field,  as  far  as  possible,  with 
whatever  is  placed  upon  it  (figs.  25,  26, 
27).  A lion  or  an  eagle,  for  instance,  will 

74 


Fig.  23.  Armorial  panels,  the  middlemost  with  the  arms,  supporters,  and  badges  of 
King  Edward  II,  from  the  George  Inn  at  Glastonbury. 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


have  the  limbs  and  extremities  so  spread 
out  as  to  fill  every  available  space ; and 
the  same  will  be  found  in  every  group  or 


Fig.  24.  Shield  with  curved  surface  from  an 
effigy  of  a Pembridge  at  Clehonger,  Here- 
fordshire. 

combination  of  objects  capable  of  arrange- 
ment or  extension. 

Even  with  most  unpromising  combina- 
tions, or  a group  that  cannot  be  extended  or 

76 


modified  at  all,  or  with  a single  charge  like 
a fleur-de-lis,  or  ordinary  such  as  a bend 
(fig.  30),  pale,  or  cheveron  (pi.  vm  a), 
a judicious  adjustment  of  proportions,  or 


Fig.  25.  Shield  from  the  seal  of  Henry  Percy 
(from  the  Barons’  Letter)  with  well-drawn 
lion. 

some  equally  common-sense  method,  en- 
abled a medieval  artist  to  make  his  shield 
look  well. 

Another  point  that  may  be  noticed  in 
all  old  work  is,  that  in  shields  containing 
several  similar  objects,  no  two  are  exactly 

77 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


alike.  If  the  charges  be,  for  example, 
three  roses  or  three  roundels  or  three 
lions  (fig.  32),  two  will  be  placed  in  the 


Fig.  26.  Shield  with  a leaping  lion,  from 
a brass  (c.  1380)  at  Felbrigge  in  Norfolk. 

upper  and  the  third  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  shield.  But  the  latter  will  often  be 
somewhat  larger  than  the  others,  and  these, 
in  turn,  will  differ  slightly  the  one  from 
the  other  as  they  do  in  nature.  So,  too, 

78 


in  a case  like  the  three  leopards  of  the  King  The  Shield 

of  England,  whether  displayed  on  shield  or  ~ anc*  lts 
, ini  1 reatment 

in  banner,  no  two  are  exactly  alike,  but 


/A* 


Fig.  27.  Shield  with  an  eagle  from  a brass 
at  Great  Tew,  Oxon,  c.  1410. 


each  differs  somewhat  from  another  in 
pose  or  in  size  (fig.  32).  Even  when 
the  same  charge  is  repeated  many  times, 
like  the  fleurs-de-lis  in  the  old  arms 

79 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


of  France,  any  possible  chance  of  mechan- 
ical monotony  is  avoided  by  a trifling 
variation  in  the  shape  of  each,  as  in  the 
shield  of  the  King  of  France  in  the  early 
series  at  Westminster  (fig.  34). 

Another  fact  is  that  in  the  old  work 


Fig.  28.  Seal  of  Queen’s  College,  Oxford, 
1341,  with  well-filled  shields. 

lines  and  curves  are  hardly  ever  quite  true, 
but  drawn  by  hand  instead  of  with  pen  or 
compasses.  The  modern  artist,  on  the 
contrary,  usually  draws  his  lines  and  curves 
with  mechanical  precision  ; his  charges  are 
exact  copies  one  of  another;  the  fact  that 
they  do  not  fill  the  field  ( pace  the  royal 
arms  on  the  coinage)  is  to  him  quite  un- 
important, and  the  final  result  is  that  under 
no  circumstances  will  his  work  look  well. 
80 


Even  in  old  stencilling  a pleasing  effect  The  Shield 

never  seen  in  modern  work  of  the  kind  was  ~ anc*  lts 
j ii  i • • i ji  Ireatment 

produced  through  a not  too  rigid  adherence 

to  a regularity  of  application. 


Fig.  29.  Shield  with  a griffin,  from  a brass 
of  1405  at  Boughton-under-Blean,  Kent. 


Another  cause  of  the  bad  effect  of  much 
modern  heraldry  is  the  unnecessary  adher- 
ence to  the  rules  laid  down  in  some  of  the 
textbooks  and  manuals  as  to  the  relative 

81 


F 


The  Shield  widths  of  ordinaries  and  subordinaries. 

and  its  The  Qld  heralds  certainly  did  not  fetter 

1 reatment 


Fig.  30.  Seal  of  Peter  de  Mauley  IV  (from  the 
Barons’  Letter)  showing  a simple  well-balanced 
shield. 


Fig.  31.  Shield  with  a bend  counter-flowered  from 
the  brass  of  Sir  Thomas  Bromfleet,  1430,  at 
Wymington,  Beds. 

82 


themselves  with  such  shackles.  A cheveron,  The  Shield 
a bend,  a fesse,  or  a cross  was  drawn  of  the  anc*  lts 
best  proportion  to  look  well  (figs.  35,  36).  reatment 
If  charged  it  would  be  wider  than  when 


Fig.  32.  Shield  with  three  lions,  from  a 
brass  at  Stanford  Dingley,  Berks,  1444. 

plain.  If  placed  between  charges  it  was 
drawn  narrower,  if  itself  uncharged,  and 
thus  took  its  proper  relative  position  with 
regard  to  the  size  and  arrangement  of 
the  charges.  So  too  with  a.  border;  if 
uncharged  or  merely  gobony  ( i.e . formed 
of  short  lengths  of  alternate  colours)  or 

83 


Fig.  33/  Shield  of  the  royal  arms  done  in  boiled 
leather,  from  the  tomb  of  Edward  prince  of 
Wales  at  Canterbury,  1376. 


engrailed,  it  was  drawn  very  narrow,  and  The  Shield 
even  if  charged  it  was  not  allowed  much  an(*  its 
greater  width  (figs.  38,  39).  It  thus 

never  unduly  encroached  upon  the  field  or 


treatment 


Fig.  34.  Shield  of  the  King  of  France,  c.  1259,  in  the 
quire  of  Westminster  abbey  church 

other  contents  of  the  shield,  and  yet  re- 
mained an  artistic  addition  in  itself.  The 
curious  bordering  known  as  the  tressure, 
which  is  almost  peculiar  to  Scotland,  and 
familiar  to  us  through  its  occurrence  in  the 
shield  of  our  Sovereign,  is  drawn  suffi- 
ciently narrow  in  all  good  examples  to  leave 


The  Shield  ample  room  for  the  ramping  lion  it  fences 

and  its  in>  ancj  jts  frieze  Qf  fleurs-de-lis  is  formed  of 
1 reatment  , , r n 1 r 1 

a good  number  ot  nowers,  instead  ot  the 

eight  considered  sufficient  in  the  royal  arms 

of  to-day.  Even  a chief,  if  necessary,  was 

enlarged  from  the  “less  than  one-third  of 

the  shield”  of  to-day  to  the  one-half  of  it, 

or  even  more,  as  may  be  seen  in  some  of 

the  examples  of  the  arms  of  the  monastery 

in  the  abbey  church  of  Westminster,  or  in 

those  of  the  town  of  Southampton. 

Another  feature  of  early  heraldry  which 
it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  is  the  sparing  use 
of  what  is  known  as  quartering,  or  the 
method  of  combining  in  one  shield  the  arms 
of  two  or  more  persons  or  families.  One 
of  our  oldest  instances  of  this  occurs  on  the 
tomb  of  Queen  Eleanor,  the  first  wife  of 
King  Edward  I,  at  Westminster,  and  shows 
her  paternal  arms  of  Castile  and  Leon  so 
arranged  (fig.  40).  Another  early  example 
occurs  in  the  Great  Roll,  temp.  Edward  II, 
where  the  arms  of  Sir  Simon  Montagu  ( oh . 
c.  1316),  silver  a fesse  indented  gules  of  three 
indentures , are  quartered  with  azure  a gold 
grifin.  So  long  as  the  shield  contained  only 
four  quarters,  with  the  first  and  fourth, 
and  thesecond  and  third, respectively,  alike, 
the  effect  was  often  good,  as  in  the  cases  just 
86 


1'igs.  35  and  36.  Shields  with  uncharged  ordinaries. 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


noted,  or  in  the  beautiful  arms  of  France  and 
England  combined  used  after  1340  by  King 
Edward  III  (fig.  41).  There  are  also  many 
examples,  as  in  the  well-known  bearings  of 


Fig.  37.  Shield  with  a charged  bend  from 
a brass  at  Kidderminster,  1415. 


the  Veres  and  of  the  Despensers,  where 
a quarterly  disposition  of  the  shield  forms 
the  basis  of  the  arms.  But  when,  as  became 
common  in  the  fifteenth  century,  quarters 
were  multiplied  or  subdivided,  the  artistic 
88 


PLATE  VII.— Examples  of  Quartering. 


effect  of  the  old  simple  shield  was  lost  or  The 
destroyed.  As  the  principle  was  further  ^ ar 
extended,  especially  in  Tudor  and  Stewart 
times,  the  result  became  more  and  more 
confused  in  appearance,  until  the  field 
resembled  rather  a piece  of  coloured  patch- 
work  than  a combination  of  various  arms 
all  more  or  less  beautiful  in  themselves. 

The  origin  and  growth  of  these  combina- 
tions, which  actually  are  perfectly  lawful 
and  proper,  and  yet  often  quite  accidental, 
can  easily  be  illustrated  by  a few  typical 
examples. 

In  1382  King  Richard  II,  who  used  the 
same  arms  as  his  grandfather,  a quarterly 
shield  of  Old  France  and  England,  married 
Anne  of  Bohemia,  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.  As  her  shield  was  also  a 
quartered  one,  the  combined  arms  of  the 
king  and  his  queen,  as  shown  upon  her 
seal,  formed  a shield  of  eight  quarters 
(pi.  vii  a).  This  was  further  complicated 
through  the  later  assumption  by  King 
Richard  of  the  arms  assigned  to  St. 
Edward  (fig.  43),  a cross  between  five 
birds ; and  the  eight-quartered  shield  with 
this  clumsy  addition  at  one  side  may  be 
seen  on  the  Felbrigge  brass. 

These  arms  of  St.  Edward  were  used  for 

89 


Frorn  the  brass  of  William  Grevel,  1401,  at  From  the  brass  of  Thomas  Walysel,  c.  1420, 

Chipping  Campden  in  Gloucestershire.  at  Whitchurch,  Oxon. 


Fig.  40.  Quartered  shield  of  Queen  Eleanor  of  Cas- 
tile, from  her  tomb  at  Westminster,  1291. 


a time  duly  ‘differenced’  in  conjunction 
with  his  own  quarterly  arms  by  Henry  of 

91 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


Lancaster,  afterwards  King  Henry  IV,  and 
are  impaled  with  those  of  his  wife,  Mary 
de  Bohun,  on  his  seal  (1399)  as  duke  of 
Hereford.  Artistically  the  lop-sided  effect 
so  produced  is  quite  unhappy. 

Many  fifteenth  century  shields  show 


Fig.  41.  Arms  of  King  Edward  III,  from 
his  tomb  at  Westminster. 

forth,  by  the  simple  quartering  of  a man’s 
arms  with  those  of  his  wife  or  his  mother, 
his  succession  or  summons  as  a lord  of 
parliament,  or  his  inheritance  of  great 
estates. 

92 


But  this  simplicity  was  gradually  de-  The  Shield 
stroyed  when  the  added  quartering  was  anc*  lts 
itself  quartered,  as  in  the  arms  of  Richard  reatment 


Fig.  42.  Shield  with  impaled  quarters  from 
the  brass  of  Peter  Halle,  c.  1420,  at  Herne 
in  Kent. 


Nevill  earl  of  Salisbury  (see  pis.  xvii  a and 
xxii  B),or  the  quarterings  were  all  different, 
as  in  the  case  of  Humphrey  Stafford  duke 

93 


The  Shield  of  Buckingham.  When  but  a year  old  he 
^ and  its  ^ succeeded  his  father  as  earl  of  StafFord, 
and  on  his  mother’s  death  he  became  earl 


Fig.  43.  Arms  of  St.  Edward,  from  the  tomb  of  Ed- 
mund duke  of  York,  ob.  1402,  at  King’s  Langley. 


of  Buckingham,  Hereford,  Northampton, 
Essex,  and  Perche  ! These  dignities  are 


Fig.  44.  Seal  of  Humphrey  Stafford  earl  of  Buckingham, 
Hereford,  Stafford,  Northampton,  and  Perche,  as  captain 
of  Calais  and  Lieutenant  of  the  Marches,  1442. 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


duly  displayed  in  the  quarterings  of  his  arms 
on  his  seal,  as  follows  : I . The  quartered  arms 
of  his  mother,  for  the  earldom  of  Bucking- 
ham, 2.  Bohun  of  Hereford,  3.  Bohun  of 
Northampton,  4.  Stafford  (fig.  44). 

When  Henry  duke  of  Buckingham  suc- 
ceeded in  1460  to  all  the  dignities  of  duke 
Humphrey  his  grandfather,  he  wisely 
elected,  by  the  advice  of  the  kings-of-arms, 
to  drop  the  above  quarterings,  and  to  use 
only  the  arms  of  his  great-grandmother, 
who  as  sister  and  heir  of  Humphrey  duke 
of  Gloucester  and  earl  of  Buckingham 
bore  France  and  England  quarterly  within  a 
border  silver. 

About  1433  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick,  was 
married  to  John  Talbot  earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, and  she  thereupon  had  a beautiful 
seal  engraved,  with  two  large  shields  of 
arms  hung  side  by  side  by  their  straps 
from  a ragged  staff,  the  badge  of  her 
father’s  house  (pi.  xxvn  b).  This  charm- 
ing composition  is,  however,  quite  spoilt 
through  the  complicated  treatment  of  the 
shields.  One  of  these  bears  the  arms  of 
husband  and  wife  conjoined,  the  other 
those  of  the  lady’s  father.  The  earl  of 
Warwick’s  shield  is  a quartered  one  of 
96 


Beauchamp  and  Newburgh,  with  a small  The  Shield 

superimposed  scutcheon.  The  earl  of  anc**ts 
ni  I*  i acc  1 reatment 

Shrewsbury  s arms  also  consisted  ol  tour 

quarters,  to  which  his  wife  added  her  four 

(omitting  the  scutcheon),  and  thus  made  a 

patchwork  of  eight. 

A more  remarkable  and  equally  accidental 
case  may  be  illustrated  by  the  brass  of  Sir 
Humphrey  Bourchier  (1471)  in  the  abbey 
church  of  Westminster. 

This  displays  four  shields  : one  has  the 
arms  of  Bourchier  quartering  Lovain  and 
impaling  the  quarterly  arms  of  Berners ; 
and  another,  the  six  quarterings  of  Sir 
Humphrey’s  wife,  Elizabeth  Tylney.  In 
a third  shield  these  are  quite  properly 
impaled,  with  a resultant  of  fourteen 
quarters.  In  the  fourth  shield  these  are 
quartered  together,  and  so  produce  a 
dreadful  confusion  of  twenty-eight  quar- 
ters ! It  is  not  necessary  here  to  show  how 
th  ese  shields  might  have  been  simplified  in 
themselves,  but  from  the  artistic  standpoint 
there  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  the  two  first 
should  at  least  have  been  kept  separate. 

The  many  other  examples  to  be  found  in 
the  illustrations  of  this  book  will  serve  as 
useful  reminders  of  the  greater  advantage 
artistically  of  simpler  treatment. 


G 


97 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


It  is  moreover  well  to  remember  that  in 
the  majority  of  cases  there  is  not  the  least 
need  in  actual  work  to  produce  a great 
many  quarterings  in  a shield.  In  numerous 
examples,  especially  in  the  sixteenth  century 
and  later,  they  were  assumed  merely  for 
display,  and  to  reduce  them  to  a reasonable 
few  is  often  a most  desirable  thing. 

It  is  difficult  without  knowledge  of 
individual  cases  to  lay  down  any  definite 
rules  for  dealing  with  quarterings,  but 
there  can  be  no  question  that  in  general 
a shield  looks  best  without  any  at  all.  In 
the  case  of  a man  with  a compound  name 
or  title,  who  represents  more  than  one 
family  or  dignity,  it  would  be  legitimate 
to  add  a quartering  on  that  account,  but 
only  of  the  actual  arms  of  the  family  or 
dignity  represented.  It  is  however  so 
hard  to  draw  a line  or  to  restrain  the 
wishes  of  clients  that  the  fifteenth  century 
example  of  Henry  duke  of  Buckingham 
should  ever  be  borne  in  mind. 

As  soon  as  the  principle  of  hereditary 
descent  of  armorial  bearings  became  estab- 
lished, the  necessity  arose  of  making  some 
slight  difference  between  the  arms  of  a 
father  and  those  borne  by'his  sons.  This 
was  usually  done  by  adding  to  the  paternal 
98 


arms  such  more  or  less  unobtrusive  device  The  Shield 

as  a label,  or  narrow  border,  or  a small  _ an(*  lts 
in  , 1 reatment 

charge  like  a crescent  or  a molet. 

The  lord  John  of  Eltham,  son  of  King 
Edward  II,  bears  upon  his  tomb  at  West- 
minster a beautifully  carved  shield  of  the 
arms  of  England  differenced  by  a border 
of  France;  and  one  of  the  sons  of  King 
Edward  III,  Thomas  of  Woodstock, 
differenced  his  father’s  arms  by  a silver 
border,  as  at  an  earlier  period  did  Edmund 
earl  of  Kent,  the  youngest  son  of  King 
Edward  I. 

The  label  is  a narrow  band  with  long 
pendent  strips  or  pieces,  usually  three, 
but  sometimes  four  or  five  in  number, 
placed  upon  and  across  the  upper  part 
of  a shield  (fig.  45).  It  is  now  used 
to  distinguish  the  arms  of  an  eldest  son 
from  those  of  his  father,  but  this  was 
not  always  the  rule,  and  younger  sons  of 
King  Henry  III  and  King  Edward  I,  and 
at  least  three  of  the  sons  of  King  Edward 
III,  besides  the  Prince  of  Wales,  bore  dis- 
tinctive labels  for  difference.  Anciently, 
the  label  was  very  narrow,  and  the  pendent 
pieces  of  equal  or  nearly  equal  width 
throughout,  even  when  charged  with  de- 
vices, as  they  sometimes  were.  The  colour 

99 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


was  also  a matter  of  choice.  The  first 
three  Edwards,  during  their  fathers’  life- 
time, successively  bore  blue  labels,  some- 
times of  three,  sometimes  of  five  pieces, 


Fig.  45.  Shield  of  Sir  Hugh  Hastings,  from 
the  Elsing  brass  (1347),  with  diapered 
maunch  and  a label  of  three  pieces. 


while  the  younger  brother  of  King  Edward 
I,  Edmund  earl  of  Lancaster,  used  a label 
of  France  (blue  with  gold  fleurs-de-lis) 
of  four  pieces,  and  Thomas  of  Brotherton, 
100 


second  son  of  King  Edward  I,  a silver  label  The  Shield 
of  three  pieces.  T anc*  lts 

In  the  case  of  the  sons  of  King  Edward  reatment 
III,  the  Prince  of  Wales  bore  at  first  a 
silver  label  of  five  and  later  of  three  pieces  ; 

Lionel  duke  of  Clarence  seems  to  have 
borne  at  one  time  a gold  label  with  a red 
cross  on  each  piece  for  Ulster,  and  at 
another  a silver  label  charged  on  each  piece 
with  a red  quarter  for  Clare ; John  of 
Gaunt  duke  of  Lancaster  bore  an  ermine 
label  for  his  earldom  of  Richmond  (pi.  n) ; 
and  Edmund  duke  of  York  a silver  label 
with  three  red  roundels  on  each  piece 
(pi.  xxi  b).  The  rolls  of  arms  furnish 
instances  of  labels  of  all  colours,  and  with 
pieces  charged  with  various  devices  such 
as  leopards,  eagles,  castles,  martlets,  etc. 

Differencing  with  labels  was  likewise 
extended  to  crests,  and  a good  example 
may  be  seen  on  the  monument  of  Edward 
prince  of  Wales  (ob.  1376),  at  Canterbury 
(fig.  46),  as  well  as  in  fig.  139. 

In  modern  heraldry  the  label  is  often 
drawn  unduly  wide,  with  short  and  ugly 
wedge-shaped  pieces  hanging  from  or 
sticking  on  to  it,  and  sometimes  it  does  not 
even  extend  to  the  sides  of  the  shield. 

The  result  is  that  instead  of  its  being  a 


101 


The  Shield  comparatively  unobtrusive  addition  to  the 

and  its  arms  the  label  becomes  unduly  conspicuous 
Ireatment  , • i r n rr 

and  void  of  all  artistic  effect. 


Fig.  46.  Part  of  the  gilt-latten  effigy  of  Edward 
prince  of  Wales  at  Canterbury,  showing  labels 
over  both  the  arms  and  the  crest. 

The  old  way  of  differencing  by  the  ad- 
dition of  a crescent*  molet,or  similar  device, 
102 


was  generally  carried  out  in  quite  an  artistic 
fashion  on  account  of  the  care  taken  to 
place  the  device  agreeably,  a favourite 
position  being  on  the  principal  ordinary  or 
charge  of  the  arms. 

Many  cadets  of  the  great  family  of 
Nevill,  for  example,  differenced  the  arms 
of  their  house,  gules  a saltire  silver , by 
placing  the  device  on  the  middle  of  the 
saltire,  and  some  of  the  Beauchamps  placed 
the  differencing  mark  on  the  fesse  of  their 
arms.  In  other  cases  the  device  was  placed 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  shield,  or  in  some 
other  such  point  where  it  would  least  inter- 
fere with  or  be  confounded  with  the  charges. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  differences  an 
artist  has  to  contend  with  to-day  is  the  sil- 
ver scutcheon  with  a red  hand  which  is 
placed  upon  the  arms  of  baronets.  Its 
position  of  course  varies,  and  may  often  be 
altered  with  advantage,  and  it  looks  all  the 
better  if  drawn  not  unduly  large  and  with 
a simple  heater-shaped  shield.  But  some 
artists  wisely  leave  it  out  altogether. 

In  the  case  of  all  devices  introduced  as 
differences  it  will  generally  be  found  ad- 
visable to  draw  them  to  a somewhat 
smaller  scale  than  the  charges  already  in 
the  arms. 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


103 


Fig.  47.  Diapered  shield  of  the  arms  of  Vere,  from 
an  effigy  in  Hatfield  Broadoak  church,  Essex. 


PLATE  VIII. — Examples  of  diapered  shields. 


In  many  ancient  heraldic  shields,  espe-  The  Shield 

cially  in  painted  glass,  and  to  a lesser  ~ an(*  *ts 
• ill  , i 1 reatment 

extent  in  carved  work  and  on  seals,  the 

plain  uncharged  surfaces  of  the  field  or 

ordinaries  are  relieved  by  covering  them 


Fig.  48.  Diapered  shield  from  the  seal  of 
Robert  Waldby  archbishop  of  York,  1390, 
for  the  regality  of  Hexham. 


with  the  purely  ornamental  decoration 
called  diapering  (figs.  45,  48).  An 

early  instance  in  relief  occurs  on  the 
shield  of  the  effigy  in  the  Templars’ 
church  in  London  usually  ascribed  to 
Geoffrey  de  Magnavilla ; and  another 
delicately  sculptured  example  of  later  date 

10  S 


The  Shield  is  to  be  seen  on  the  Vere  effigy  in  Hat- 

and  its  field  Broadoak  church  in  Essex  (fig.  47). 
Treatment  v 


Fig.  49.  Diapered  Shield  of  the  arms  of  Clun, 
from  the  monument  of  the  lady  Eleanor 
Percy  ( ob . 1337)  in  Beverley  Minster. 

Several  fine  instances  of  painted  diapering 
will  be  found  in  Stothard’s  Monumental 
106 


Effigies.  This  beautiful  treatment  has,  The  Shield 
happily,  been  largely  revived  of  late  years  q^eatment 


Fig.  50.  Diapered  shield  of  the  arms  of  Percy, 
from  the  monument  of  the  lady  Eleanor 
Percy  ( ob . 133 7)  in  Beverley  Minster. 

by  the  glass  painters,  who  use  it  quite 
successfully,  probably  from  the  ease  with 

107 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


which  in  their  case  it  can  be  applied. 
Modern  carvers  use  it  very  sparingly,  and 
this  perhaps  is  as  it  should  be,  for  diapering 
needs  to  be  done  with  great  skill  in  sculpture 
to  look  well.  A careful  study  therefore  of  old 
examples  is  advisable,  in  order  thoroughly  to 
understand  the  principles  of  its  application. 

Some  of  the  finest  diapered  shields  in 
carved  work  occur  in  the  spandrels  of  the 
splendid  monument  of  the  lady  Eleanor 
Percy  in  Beverley  Minster  (figs.  49,  50). 
Good  instances  are  to  be  found  on  seals, 
and  a number  of  these  are  here  illustrated  in 
order  to  show  the  proper  treatment  of  dia- 
pering. (See  pis.  viii.  xii.  and  xxvn  a.) 

It  is  of  course  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
diapering  is  merely  a surface  decoration, 
and  it  must  not  on  any  account  be  empha- 
sized by  any  difference  of  colour  from  that 
of  the  field  or  ordinary  it  relieves,  nor 
must  it  be  treated  with  such  prominence 
as  to  render  it  liable  to  be  mistaken  for  a 
charge  or  charges. 

Diapering  can  be  represented  effectively 
in  embroidered  work  by  the  use  of  flowered 
or  patterned  damasks,  as  may  be  seen  in 
the  banners  in  St.  Paul’s  cathedral  church 
in  the  chapel  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael 
and  St.  George. 

108 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SHIELD  AND  ITS  TREATMENT 

( continued ) 

Armorial  Bearings  of  Ladies  ; Use  of  Lozenges 
and  Roundels  as  variant  forms  of  Shields ; Arms 
of  Men  on  Lozenges;  Combinations  of  Shields 
with  Lozenges  and  Roundels  of  Arms  on  Seals 
and  in  Embroideries 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  shield 
a few  words  must  be  written  about  the 
armorial  bearings  of  ladies. 

It  has  always  been  the  practice  for  the 
daughters  of  a house  to  bear,  without 
difference  or  alteration,  the  arms  of  their 
father.  This  practice  has  been  departed 
from  only  in  quite  modern  times,  by  the 
addition  of  distinctive  labels  to  the  arms 
borne  by  our  princesses.  To  the  manner 
in  which  married  ladies  have  arranged  or 
‘marshalled’  their  arms  reference  will  be 
made  later,  but  it  is  necessary  here  to  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  it  has  been 
customary  for  a long  time  to  place  the 
arms  of  widows  and  single  ladies  upon 
shields  that  are  lozenge-shaped.  A good 

109 


The  Shield  early  example  is  that  from  the  monument 

and  its  jn  Westminster  abbey  church  of  Frances 
1 reatment 


Fig.  51.  Lozenge  of  arms  from  the  monument 
at  Westminster  of  Frances  Brandon  duchess 
of  Suffolk,  ob.  1559. 

Brandon  duchess  of  Suffolk,  ob.  1559, 
shown  in  fig.  51. 

This  singularly  inconvenient  form  of 
shield,  upon  which  it  is  often  impossible 


IIO 


to  draw  the  arms  properly,  began  to  be  The  Shield 

used  early  in  the  fourteenth  century.  ~ anc*  *ts 

T " , i c 1 reatment 

It  was  not,  however,  used  tor  or  re- 
stricted to  the  arms  of  ladies,  since  the 
evidence  of  seals  shows  that  it  was  at  first 
used  to  contain  the  armorial  bearings  of 
men.  There  can  likewise  be  little  doubt 
that  it  and  the  roundel,  which  was  also 
charged  with  arms,  were  contemporane- 
ously invented  by  the  seal  engravers  as 
variants  from  the  ordinary  form  of  shield  ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
majority  of  the  examples  occur  on  seals 
which  have  a background  or  setting  of 
elaborate  tracery. 

The  roundel  seems  to  have  originated  in 
the  covering  of  the  entire  field  of  a circular 
seal  with  the  arms  of  its  owner,  such  as 
the  leopards  of  England  which  are  so 
disposed  in  a counterseal  of  Edward  of 
Carnarvon  as  prince  of  Wales.  Two  seals 
of  John  of  Gaunt  duke  of  Lancaster, 
engraved  probably  in  1372,  show  a similar 
treatment : the  one  bearing  his  arms 

impaling,  and  the  other  his  arms  im- 
paled with,  those  of  Castile  and  Leon 
(pi.  vii  b).  The  former  commemorates 
his  marriage  with  Constance  of  Castile, 
and  the  latter  the  duke’s  claim  in  right 


1 1 1 


The  Shield  of  his  wife  to  the  kingdom  of  Castile 
and  its  itself 

A large  enamelled  roundel,  party  gules  an 
azure  with  a gold  charhocle , accompanies 
the  shield  and  crested  helm  which,  with  it, 
form  the  stall-plate  of  Ralph  lord  Bassett 
(c.  1390)  at  Windsor. 

One  of  the  lesser  seals  appended  to  the 


Fig.  52.  Seal  of  Robert  FitzPain 
with  arms  in  an  oval. 

Barons’  Letter,  that  of  Robert  Fitz  Pain, 
is  an  oval  filled  with  the  owner’s  arms 

(%  52)- 

One  of  the  earliest  examples  of  arms  on 
a lozenge  is  on  a seal  of  Thomas  Furnival, 
who  died  in  1279,  and  another  but  little 
later  is  furnished  by  the  seal  of  William 
de  Braose,  appended  to  a deed  of  either 
1282  or  1314  at  Magdalen  College,  Oxford 
(pi.  ix  b). 


1 12 


PLATE  IX.— Use  of  lozenges  and  roundels  of  arms. 


That  of  William  Paynel,  appended  to  The  Shield 
the  Barons’  Letter,  also  has  his  arms  on  a _ anc*  lts 

, , , 1 reatment 

lozenge  (pi.  ix  a). 

The  first  seal  of  a lady  in  which  lozenges 
of  arms  occur  is  probably  that  of  Joan, 
daughter  of  Henry  count  of  Barre  and 


Fig.  53.  Seal  of  Joan  de  Barre,  wife  of  John 
de  Warenne  earl  of  Surrey,  1306. 


Eleanor  daughter  of  King  Edward  I,  who 
married  in  1306,  John  de  Warenne  earl  of 
Surrey  *(fig.  53).  This  has  five  lozenges 
arranged  in  cross  : that  in  the  middle  has 
her  husband’s  checkers,  those  on  each  side 
her  father’s  barbels,  etc.,  and  those  above 
and  below  the  three  leopards  of  England. 
The  lady’s  descent  from  King  Edward  is 
further  shown  by  the  castles  and  lions  of  his 
consort  Eleanor  of  Castile. 


113 


H 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


Another  interesting  example,  of  a date 
about  1320,  is  the  seal  of  Parnel, daughter 
of  H.  de  Grapenell,  and  widow  (1)  of  John 
Fitzjohn  and  (2)  of  Sir  John  Bensted  (ob. 
1323).  This  has  in  the  middle  a shield  of 
the  arms  of  Bensted,  gules  three  gold  gemell- 
bars , between  four  lozenges,  apparently 
for  Grapenell  and  Fitz-John  (pi.  ix  c). 

Contemporary  with  Parnel  Bensted’s 
seal  are  two  others  in  which  roundels  are 
used  instead  of  lozenges.  Both  are  tra- 
ceried  seals  of  Elizabeth  daughter  of 
Gilbert  of  Clare  earl  of  Gloucester,  and 
Joan  daughter  of  King  Edward  I and 
Queen  Eleanor  of  Castile.  She  was  thrice 
married  : first,  about  1306  to  John  of  Burgh, 
son  of  Richard  earl  of  Ulster;  secondly 
to  Theobald  lord  Verdon  ; and  thirdly  to 
Roger  lord  d’Amory,  who  died  in  1322. 

One  of  these  seals  has  in  the  middle,  in 
a shield,  Elizabeth’s  own  arms  of  Clare 
impaling  Burgh  within  a black  border  be- 
dewed with  tears.  Above  and  below  are 
roundels  of  Clare,  and  on  either  side  other 
roundels  of  Verdon  and  d’Amory.  In  the 
interspaces  are  the  castles  and  lions  of 
Castile  and  Leon  (pi.  ix  d). 

The  other  seal  is  similarly  arranged,  but 
has  in  the  middle  a large  shield  of  d’Amory, 

1 14 


Hugh  Courtenay  earl  of 
Devon,  1334. 


Sibyl,  wife  of  Sir 
Edmund  Arundel, 
1350. 


John  de  Bohun  earl  of 
Hereford,  1322. 


Henry  Sturmy,  lord  of  Savernake  Forest,  1355. 


Elizabeth,  wife  of  Walter 
Bermyngham,  in  1341. 


PLATE  X. — Use  of  lozenges  and  roundels  of  arms. 


between  roundels  of  arms  of  the  lady’s 
other  husbands  above  and  below,  and  of 
Clare  for  her  father  or  herself  on  either 
side.  The  interspaces  again  contain  castles 
and  lions  (pi.  ix  e). 

Four  other  early  seals  of  great  artistic 
merit  displaying  roundels  may  also  be 
described,  especially  since  they  are  ap- 
parently the  work  of  the  same  engraver. 
They  are  filled  with  tracery,  consisting  of  a 
triangle  enclosing  a circle,  which  contains 
a large  shield,  with  cusped  circles  on  its 
sides  containing  roundels  or  devices. 

The  first  is  for  Mary  de  Seynt-Pol,  who 
married  in  1322  Aymer  of  Valence  earl  of 
Pembroke  (fig.  54).  The  shield  bears  the 
dimidiated  arms  of  husband  and  wife  ; on  a 
roundel  in  base  are  the  arms  of  her  mother ; 
and  higher  up  are  roundels  of  England  and 
France,  out  of  compliment  to  King  Edward 
II  and  Queen  Isabel. 

The  second  is  for  John  de  Bohun  earl 
of  Hereford,  and  has  a large  shield  of 
Bohun  with  roundels  also  of  Bohun.  It 
was  probably  engraved  in  1322,  and  before 
the  earl’s  marriage  in  1325  (pi.  x a). 

The  third  is  for  Richard  FitzAlan  earl 
of  Arundel  (1330-1),  who  succeeded  to 
the  vast  Warenne  estates  in  1347.  It  has 

US 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


in  the  middle  a shield  of  FitzAlan,  and 
about  it  three  roundels  with  the  checkers 
of  Warenne. 

The  fourth  is  for  Hugh  Courtenay  earl 
of  Devon  (1334-5-40)  or  his  son  Hugh 
(1340-77).  The  shield  displays  the  arms 


Fig.  54.  Seal  of  Mary  de  Seynt-Pol,  wife  of 
Aymer  of  Valence  earl  of  Pembroke,  1322. 


of  Courtenay  and  in  each  of  the  outer 
circles  is  a sexfoil  (pi.  x b). 

To  these  examples  may  be  added  a fifth 
of  about  the  same  date,  for  Henry  Sturmy 
or  Esturmy,  lord  of  the  forest  of  Savernake. 
This  has  the  Sturmy  shield  in  the  middle, 
between  two  roundels  of  the  Hussey  arms, 
and  a third  roundel  above  with  the  tenure 
horn  of  Savernake  Forest  (pi.  x c). 

116 


Other  seals  that  may  be  quoted  in  illus- 
tration of  the  indiscriminate  use  of  shields, 
roundels,  and  lozenges  during  the  four- 
teenth century  are  those  of : (i)  Juliana, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Leybourne,  and  wife 
of  John  lord  Hastings  ( ob . 1325),  with  a 
shield  of  Hastings  impaling  Leybourne, 
encircled  by  six  lozenges  of  arms  indicative 
of  other  alliances  and  descents,  derived 
from  the  fact  of  the  lady  having  been 
married  thrice;  (2)  Elizabeth  de  Multon, 
wife  of  Walter  Bermyngham,  with  the 
shield  of  Bermyngham  surrounded  by  six 
roundels  of  other  arms  ; (3)  Maud,  daughter 
of  Bartholomew  Badlesmere,  and  wife  in 
1336  of  John  de  Vere  earl  of  Oxford  (fig. 
55),  with  a shield  of  Vere  between  lozenges 
of  Clare,  Badlesmere  (her  father  and  her- 
self), Clare  with  label  (mother),  and  Fitz- 
Payn  (first  husband)  ; (4)  Maud  daughter 
of  Henry  earl  of  Lancaster,  married  first 
to  William  of  Burgh  earl  of  Ulster,  and 
secondly  (in  1343-4)  t0  Sir  Ralph  UfFord 
(fig.  56),  with  lozenges  of  Lancaster  (father 
and  herself)  above  and  Chaworth  (mother) 
below,  and  shields  of  Burgh  and  UfFord 
(husbands) ; (5)  Sybil,  daughter  of  William 
Montagu  earl  of  Salisbury  and  Katharine 
Graunson,  with  shield  of  FitzAlan  with  a 

117 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


label,  for  her  husband  Sir  Edmund  of 
Arundel,  second  son  of  Edmund  FitzAlan 
earl  of  Arundel,  between  lozenges  of 
Montagu  and  Graunson  (pi.  x e)  ;*  and  (6) 
Elizabeth,  widow  of  Sir  Gilbert  Elsefield, 
with  a lozenge  of  Elsefield  between  four 
roundels  of  other  arms  (impression  1382-3). 


Fig.  55.  Seal  of  Maud  Badlesmere,  wife  of  John 
de  Vere  earl  of  Oxford,  1336. 


Alice,  wife  of  Thomas  of  Heslerton, 
has  on  her  seal  (impression  1374)  a large 
lozenge  of  the  arms  of  Heslerton  ( gules 
six  silver  lions  with  gold  crowns ) within  a 
quatrefoil,  outside  of  which  are  four  small 
banners  of  arms  with  martlets  between. 

Lastly  may  be  noted  a seal  of  Roger 
Foljambe,  attached  to  a deed  of  1396-7, 

* Impression  attached  to  a deed  in  the  British 
Museum,  1350-1. 

1 18 


having  a lozenge  of  his  arms  ( a bend  and  The  Shield 

six  scallop  shells ) surrounded  by  his  word  or  „ and  lts 

1 reatment 

motto. 

But  seals  are  not  the  only  authorities 
for  the  indiscriminate  use  of  roundels  and 
lozenges  as  well  as  shields  of  arms.  In  the 
Victoria  and  Albert  Museum  at  South 


Fig.  56.  Seal  of  Maud  of  Lancaster,  wife 

(1)  of  William  of  Burgh  earl  of  Ulster  and 

(2)  of  Sir  Ralph  UfFord,  1343-4. 

Kensington  is  an  enamelled  coffer  of  late 
thirteenth  century  work  decorated  with 
lozenges  of  arms  of  England,  Valence, 
Dreux,  Angouleme,  Brabant,  and  Lacy. 
The  famous  Syon  cope  de  opere  Anglicano , 
also  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum, 
has  the  existing  orphrey  filled  with  large 
armorial  roundels  and  lozenges,  and  its 
border  is  composed  of  a stole  and  fanon 
embroidered  throughout  with  lozenges  of 

119 


The  Shield 
and  its 
Treatment 


arms.  (See  fig.  57.)  Christchurch,  Canter- 
bury, in  1315  possessed  an  albe  ‘sewn 
with  lozenges  with  the  arms  of  the  king 
of  England  and  of  Leybourne,’  * and 
another  ‘sewn  with  the  arms  of  North- 
wode  and  Ponyngg  in  squares  ;’f  also  an 
albe  ‘sewn  with  divers  arms  in  lozenges 
with  purple  frets  with  a stole  and  fanon  of 
the  same  work,’{  evidently  not  unlike 
those  on  the  Syon  cope. 

It  may  also  be  noted  that  the  pillows 
beneath  the  head  of  the  effigy  at.  West- 
minster of  Aveline  countess  of  Lancaster 
(c.  1275)  are  both  covered  with  heraldic 
lozenges  : on  the  upper  one  with  the  arms 
of  her  husband  alternating  with  the  lion  of 
Redvers ; on  the  lower  with  the  vair  cross 
on  red  of  her  father,  William  of  Forz  earl 
of  Albemarle.  The  gilt  metal  bed  plate 
under  the  effigy  of  William  of  Valence  earl 
of  Pembroke  ( ob . 1296),  likewise  at  West- 
minster, is  also  covered  with  a lozengy 
diaper  of  England  and  Valence,  still  bright 

* ‘consuta  de  losenges  cum  armis  regis  Anglie  et 
de  Leyburn.’ 

f ‘consuta  de  armis  de  Northwode  et  Ponyngg 
in  quadrangulis/ 

t ‘consuta  de  diversis  armis  in  lozengis  cum 
frectis  purpureis  cum  stola  et  manipulo  ejusdem 
opens/ 

120 


Fig.  57.  The  Syon  Cope,  now  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


T 

The  Shield 
T and  its 
Treatment 


with  the  original  enamel;  the  workman- 
ship of  this,  however,  is  probably  French. 

The  restriction  of  the  lozenge  to  the 
arms  of  ladies  has  clearly  therefore  no 
medieval  precedent,  and  there  is  not  any 
reason  why  the  modern  custom  should  not 
be  set  aside  when  for  artistic  reasons  a shield 
or  roundel  is  preferable. 


122 


PLATE  XI.— Early  examples  of  crests. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  TREATMENT  OF  CRESTS 

Origin  of  Crests;  Earliest  Example  of  Crests; 

Ways  of  wearing  Crests;  The  Helm  and  its 

Treatment;  Modern  Use  of  Helms;  Absurd 

Crests ; Use  of  Crests  other  than  by  individuals  ; 

The  comparative  sizes  of  Helms  and  Crests. 

A crest  was  originally,  as  its  name 
reminds  us,  a tuft  or  plume  on  the  head  of 
a bird.  Such  a plume  or  tuft,  or  bush 
as  it  was  often  called,  was  fixed  in  early 
times  as  an  ornament  on  the  top  of  a helm, 
of  which  it  thus  formed  the  crest.  Other 
devices,  such  as  could  conveniently  be  so 
worn,  were  soon  used  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  like  armorial  bearings  became  asso- 
ciated with  particular  individuals.  In  later 
days,  when  the  helm  enveloped  the  whole 
head,  the  crest  played  a useful  part  in 
revealing  the  wearer’s  identity,  though  his 
face  was  hidden. 

One  of  the  earliest  suggestions  of  a 
crest  in  English  armory  appears  on  the 
second  great  seal  (of  1198)  of  King 

123 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


Richard  I,  whose  cylindrical  helm  has  a 
leopard  upon  the  cap  with  two  wing-shaped 
fans  above  turned  in  opposite  directions. 
On  many  seals  of  the  second  half  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  as  for  instance  on  those 
of  Robert  de  Vere  earl  of  Oxford  (1263) 


Fig.  58.  Seal  of  Thomas  de  Moulton,  with 
fan-shaped  crest  on  helm  and  horse’s 
head.  From  the  Barons’  Letter. 


and  Henry  de  Laci  earl  of  Lincoln  (1272), 
the  knight  is  represented  as  riding  in  full 
armour,  with  the  helm  surmounted  with  a 
fan-shaped  plume,  which  is  also  repeated 
upon  the  horse’s  head.  (See  also  fig.  58 
and  pi.  xi  b). 

124 


PLATE  XII. — Early  uses  of  crests,  on  seals  oi  William 
Montagu  earl  of  Salisbury,  1337-44. 


An  early  use  of  a crest  proper  is  furnished  The 
by  the  seal  of  Roger  of  Ley  bourne  (ob.  1284).  Treatment 
This  shows  his  shield  of  arms  (bearing  six  ° rests 
lions)  hung  upon  a tree,  with  his  banner 
(charged  with  one  lion  only)  behind,  and  at 
one  side  a helm  with  lion  crest  (pi.  xi  a). 

Thomas  of  Berkeley  in  1295  has  upon  his 
seal  a shield  flanked  by  two  mermaids  and 
surmounted  by  a helm  carrying  a mitre  for 
a crest.  Thomas  earl  of  Lancaster  (1296) 
on  two  separate  seals  has  a wiver,  or  two- 
legged  dragon,  upon  his  helm,  and  this  again 
is  repeated  upon  his  horse’s  head  (fig.  59). 

The  seal  of  his  brother  Henry  of  Lancaster, 
appended  to  the  Barons’  Letter,  also  shows 
his  helm  crested  with  a wiver  (fig.  60). 

Two  other  early  examples  of  crests  on  seals 
from  the  Barons’  Letter  are  shown  in  figs. 

61  and  62.  Sir  John  Peche,  on  a seal  ap- 
pended to  a deed  of  1323-4,  has  his  shield 
flanked  by  wivers  and  surmounted  by  a 
helm  with  squirrel  crest.  William  Montagu 
earl  of  Salisbury  (1336-7),  in  the  mounted 
figure  of  himself  on  his  fine  seal,  has  a 
demi-griffin  fixed  upon  his  crowned  helm 
(pi.  xii  b),  and  King  Edward  III  shows 
for  the  first  time,  on  his  seal  of  1340,  his 
crest  of  a crowned  leopard  standing  upon 
the  cap  of  estate  which  surmounts  his  helm. 

125 


The  During  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth 

o^Crest^  century  there  ls  an  interesting  diversity  in 


Fig.  59.  Seal  of  Thomas  earl  of  Lancaster,  Leicester, 
and  Ferrers,  showing  wiver  crest  on  his  helm  and 
horse’s  head.  From  the  Barons’  Letter. 


the  manner  of  representing  crests,  when 
not  being  worn  by  their  owners. 


T 26 


w 


William  Montagu  earl  of  Salisbury  The 
shows  on  his  counterseal  (pi.  xn  a)  his 
shield  supported  by  two  griffins,  and  en- 


Fig.  6o.  Seal  of  Henry  of  Lancaster  lord  of  Mon- 
mouth, with  wiver  crest  and  quasi-supporters. 


signed  by  the  demi-griffin  issuing  from  an 
open  crown  which  in  his  seal  he  carries  upon 
his  helm.  John  Engayn,  in  1349,  has  upon 
the  upper  edge  of  his  shield  a wolf  or  fox 

127 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


walking  under  a tree.  Henry  duke  of 
Lancaster  (1341)  ensigns  the  shield  of  his 
arms  with  a cap  of  estate  surmounted  by 
a leopard  (pi.  xm  c) ; and  Peter  de 
Mauley,  the  sixth  of  that  name,  in  1379-80 
has  a seal  with  his  simple  arms  ( a bend) 
supported  by  two  ramping  leopards,  and 


Fig.  61.  Seal  of  Robert  Fig.  62.  Seal  of  Walter 

de  la  Warde,  with  de  Mounci,  with  the 

fan  crest.  helm  surmounted  by 

a fox  as  a crest. 

surmounted  by  a fierce  dragon  breathing 
defiance  (pi.  xx  b).  In  none  of  these  cases 
does  a helm  appear. 

After  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century  the  crest  is  invariably  shown  as 
part  of  the  helm. 

The  helm,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say,  was  such  an  one  as  formed  part  of 
the  war  harness  of  the  time,  and  in  the 
128 


Walter  lord  FitzWalter,  1415-31. 


Robert  Shottesbroke,  1458-9.  Thomas  lord  Dacre  of  Gilsland,  1412.  Sir  John  Cheyny,  1395. 


numerous  armorial  representations  that  The 
may  be  found  on  seals  or  on  monuments  Treatment 
or  buildings  it  is  almost  invariably  shown 
in  profile.  This  was,  however,  merely  on 
account  of  its  being  the  most  conven- 
ient way  of  displaying  the  crest,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  medieval 
common-sense,  examples  are  to  be  found 
which  show  the  helm  and  crest  facing  the 
observer. 

Thus  Thomas  de  Holand  (1353)  has  on 
his  seal  a shield  of  his  arms  hung  from  a 
tree  and  flanked  by  two  fronting  helms, 
each  encircled  by  a crown  and  surmounted 
by  a huge  bush  of  feathers;  Sir  Robert  de 
Marni  (1366)  flanks  his  shield,  which  is 
also  hung  from  a tree,  with  two  fronting 
helms,  each  crested  with  a tall  pair  of  wings 
rising  from  the  sides  of  a cap  of  estate  (fig. 

63) ; Sir  Stephen  Hales  (1392-3)  on  his  seal 
has  a couched  shield  of  his  arms  surmounted 
by  a fronting  helm,  with  a crown  about  it 
from  which  issue  two  fine  wings ; Robert 
Deynelay  (1394-5)  kk e manner  shows 

his  helm  crested  with  two  ears  of  a bat  or 
hare;  and  Walter  lord  FitzWalter  (1415- 
31)  has  on  his  seal  a couched  shield,  and 
on  a fronting  helm  above  a cap  of  estate 
surmounted  by  a star  between  two  large 

129 


1 


The  wings  (pi.  xm  a).  Another  example  of 

Treatment  a fronting  helm  is  shown  in  pi.  v B. 
of  Crests  ^ r • • 

J he  present  custom  or  using  various 

types  of  helm  facing  different  ways  to 

denote  grades  of  rank  is  comparatively 

recent  as  well  as  often  inconvenient,  and 

utterly  subversive  of  the  proper  method  of 


Fig.  63.  Seal  of  Sir  Robert  de  Marni,  1366, 
with  crested  helms  flanking  the  shield. 

displaying  a crest,  which  should  invariably 
face  the  same  way  as  its  wearer.  This  fact 
is  amply  illustrated  by  the  early  stall-plates 
at  Windsor,  but  the  modern  crested  helms 
surmounting  the  stalls  there  were  for  a long 
time  the  scoff  of  students  of  heraldry  owing 
to  the  absurd  manner  in  which  the  crests 
were  set  athwart  the  fronting  helms.  It  is 
pleasant  to  be  able  to  add  that  the  crests 
have  lately  been  replaced  almost  throughout 
130 


Edmund  Grey  earl  of  Kent,  1442. 

I 


B Thomas  Ballard,  Esq. 


C Sir  Henry  Ingelose. 
of  Loddon,  1451. 


PLATE  XIV. — Examples  of  crests  and  mantlings. 


by  a new  and  larger  series,  worthy  of  their 
surroundings,  and  set  upon  the  helms  in 
the  proper  way.  Under  the  same  en- 
lightened administration  the  most  recent 


Fig.  64.  Crest  etc.  of  Sir  John  Astley,  from 
a MS.  c.  1420. 

stall-plates  are  enamelled  creations  of  real 
artistic  and  heraldic  excellence. 

The  crest  was,  of  old  time,  almost  always 
something  that  could  actually  be  set  upon 
a helm,  and  such  objects  as  naturally  were 

131 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


Fig.  65.  Crest  of  Edward  prince  of  Wales, 
1376,  of  leather  and  stamped  gesso, 
from  his  tomb  at  Canterbury. 


Fig.  66.  Funeral  helm  and  wooden  crest  of 
George  Brooke  lord  Cobham,  ob.  1558,  in 
Cobham  church,  Kent. 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


too  large  or  too  heavy  were  modelled  in 
boiled  leather,  wood,  or  other  light  material : 
like  the  fine  crest  borne  at  the  funeral  of 
Edward  prince  of  Wales,  now  over  his 
tomb  at  Canterbury,  which  is  a leopard 
standing  upon  a cap  of  estate  and  modelled 
in  leather  covered  with  stamped  gesso 
(fig.  65) ; or  the  soldan’s  head  of  carved 
wood  that  surmounts  the  funeral  helm  of 
George  lord  Cobham,  in  Cobham  church, 
Kent  (fig.  66). 

Such  impossible  crests  as  the  pictorial 
scenes  and  other  absurdities  granted  by  the 
kings-of-arms  during  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  centuries,  and  even  back  to 
Elizabethan  days,  would  not  have  been 
thought  of  at  an  earlier  period,  when 
heraldry  was  a living  art. 

The  degradation  of  the  proper  use  of  a 
crest,  other  than  by  those  entitled  to  wear 
one,  began  as  soon  as  the  kings-of-arms 
presumed  to  grant  armorial  bearings  by 
their  bestowing  crests  upon  impersonal’ 
corporate  bodies  like  the  London  livery 
companies,  such  as  the  Tallow  Chandlers 
(1456),  Masons  (1472),  and  Wax  Chandlers 
(1485-6). 

Arms  were  borne  by  the  mayor  and 
commonalty  of  a city  or  town  at  least  as 

134 


Fig.  67.  Stall-plate  of  Humphrey  duke  of 
Buckingham  as  earl  of  Stafford,  c.  1429. 


early  as  1283  in  the  case  of  Chester,  and  of 
1305  in  the  case  of  Dover  (or  the  Cinque 


135 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


Fig.  68.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Thomas  Burgh, 
c.  1483. 


Ports),  but  none  presumed  to  use  a crest 
until  London  did  so  on  the  making  of  a 
136 


new  seal  in  1^39,  and  no  crest  was  The 
granted  to  a town  before  11561.  ireatment 

0 nt  I rpof  c 

Before  leaving  crests  a word  must  be 
said  as  to  their  comparative  sizes. 


Fig.  69.  Seal  of  Richard  Nevill,  with  separate  crests 
and  supporters  for  his  earldoms  of  Salisbury  and 
Warwick. 

Throughout  the  best  period  of  heraldic 
art  the  crested  helm  and  the  shield  in 
pictorial  representations  practically  balance 

. . 1 37 


The 

Treatment 
of  Crests 


one  another,  but  there  is  occasionally  a 
tendency  to  diminish  the  shield,  and  so 
apparently  to  enlarge  the  crest.  This  may 
be  seen,  for  example,  in  several  of  the  early 
stall-plates  at  Windsor  (figs.  67,  68),  which 
otherwise  are  admirable  models  as  to  the 
treatment  of  crests  in  general.  They  also 
show  very  clearly  how  easily  and  com- 
fortably the  crests  surmount  the  helms. 

A remarkable  early  English  example  of 
the  use  of  two  crests  is  furnished  by  a seal 
of  Richard  Nevill  (1449-1471),  the  ‘King- 
maker,’ who  was  earl  of  Salisbury,  and,  in 
right  of  his  wife,  also  earl  of  Warwick 
(fig.  69).  This  exhibits  two  helms  above 
the  multi-quartered  shield,  the  one  carry- 
ing the  Beauchamp  swan  for  the  earldom 
of  Warwick,  the  other  the  Montagu  griffin 
for  the  earldom  of  Salisbury. 


138 


CHAPTER  V 


MANTLINGS 

Origin  of  Mantlings;  Simple  early  forms; 

Colours  of  Mantlings;  Medieval  usage  as  to 

Colours  of  Mantlings. 

In  actual  use  the  helm  seems  often  to  have 
been  covered  behind  by  a hanging  scarf  or 
cloth  of  some  kind,  perhaps  to  temper  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  like  a modern  puggaree. 
Heraldically  this  is  represented  by  what  is 
now  called  the  mantling. 

At  first  this  was  a simple  affair,  worn 
puggaree-wise,  but  by  degrees  it  was 
enlarged  in  representations  until  it  ex- 
tended on  either  side  beyond  the  helm, 
and  was  disposed  in  graceful  twists  and 
folds  with  dagged  edges,  which  have  been 
supposed  to  represent  the  cuts  it  was  liable 
to  receive  during  fighting  (figs.  70,  71). 

The  usual  colour  for  the  mantling,  for  a 
long  time,  has  been  red,  and  its  lining  of 
ermine  or  white  fur,  but  there  is  ample 
precedence  for  a difference  of  treatment,  as 
may  be  seen  in  that  rich  collection  of 

139 


Mantlings 


Fig.  70.  Seal  of  William  lord  Hastings,  c.  1461. 

short  black  mantling,  to  match  the  boar’s 
head  that  forms  his  crest  (fig.  72).  A large 
group  of  plates  set  up  in  1421  exhibits  a 
considerable  variety.  Thus  the  plate  of  Sir 
Sanchet  Dabrichecourt  has  a red  mantling 
powdered  with  gold  lozenges,  a treatment 
suggested  by  two  bands  of  red  similarly 
decorated  which  encircle  the  bush  of 
feathers  forming  his  crest  (fig.  73).  The 
140 


ancient  heraldic  art,  the  stall-plates  at 
Windsor. 

The  earliest  surviving  plate,  that  of 
Ralph  lord  Bassett  (K.G.  1368-90)  has  a 


mantling  of  William  lord  Latimer  is  of  red  Mantlings 
and  silver  stripes,  and  that  of  John  lord 
Beaumont,  like  the  field  of  his  shield,  is, 
together  with  the  cap  of  estate,  of  blue 


Fig.  71.  Seal  of  William  de  la  Pole  earl  of 
Suffolk,  1415. 

powdered  with  gold  fleurs-de-lis.  Sir 

Walter  Pavely  has  also  a blue  mantling. 

Sir  William  FitzWaryn’s  mantling  is 
quarterly  per  fesse  indented  of  red 
and  ermine,  like  his  shield  of  arms. 
The  Captal  de  Buch,  Raynald  lord 
Cobham,  Hugh  lord  Burnell  (fig.  77), 
Hugh  lord  Bourchier  (pi.  xvi),  and  Sir 
Thomas  Banastre  have  black  mantlings, 

141 


g 

Fig.  72.  Stall-plate  of  Ralph  lord  Basset,  showing  simple 
form  of  mantling. 


Mantlings 


Fig.  73.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Sanchet  Dabriche- 
court,  c.  1421. 

and  John  lord  Bourchier  and  William 
lord  Willoughby  d’Eresby  (pi.  xv)  white 
mantlings  lined  with  red.  Sir  Miles 

143 


Mantlings  Stapleton  and  the  Soudan  de  la  Trau  have 
black  mantlings  lined  with  red.  Several 
early  mantlings,  too,  are  formed  entirely  of 
silver  feathers,  with  red,  black,  or  other 
linings.  These  usually  accompany  a 
feathered  crest,  like  Sir  William  Arundel’s 
griffin  (fig.  74),  or  the  earl  of  Warwick’s 
swan  (fig.  75),  or  Sir  Thomas  Erping- 
ham’s  bush  of  feathers.  Another  curious 
variation,  which  is  found  on  four  early 
plates,  has  the  colour  of  the  mantling 
different  on  the  two  sides  of  the  helm, 
such  as  red  on  one  side,  and  blue  or 
black  on  the  other.  In  about  a dozen 
plates  between  1450  and  1470  the  red,  and 
in  one  case  the  blue,  ground  of  a mantling 
is  relieved  by  a trailing  pattern  in  gold, 
sometimes  in  lines  only,  but  more  usually 
as  leafwork  or  flowers.  In  the  plate  of 
Walter  lord  Hungerford  (el.  1421)  the 
mantling  on  his  banner-like  plate  is  barred 
with  red  and  ermine  ( see  fig.  136),  in 
allusion  to  the  arms  of  his  lordship  of 
Hussey.  Lastly,  in  the  plate  of  Richard 
lord  Rivers  (el.  1450)  the  mantling  is  red, 
sown  with  gold  trefoils,  and  lined  with 
white,  with  gold  tassels  at  the  ends  (fig.  76). 
This  is  derived  from  the  crest,  which  is  the 
upper  part  of  a man  brandishing  a scimitar, 
144 


and  clad  in  a red  tunic  with  standing  collar  Mantlings 
and  large  hanging  sleeves,  also  sown  with 


Fig.  74.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  William  Arundel, 
c.  1421. 


trefoils.  The  sleeves  are  cleverly  arranged 
in  the  plate,  as  if  forming  part  of  the 


145 


K 


Mantlings 


Fig.  75.  Stall-plate  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl 
of  Warwick,  after  1423. 


mantling,  and  are  similarly  dagged  and 
lined  and  tasselled.  On  the  stall-plate 
146 


Fig.  76.  Stall-plate  of  Richard  Wydville  lord  Rivers, 
c.  1450. 


(c.  1483)  of  Francis  viscount  Lovel,  the 
mantling  is  of  purple  sown  with  gold 
hanging  locks. 


Mantlings 


147 


CHAPTER  VI 


CRESTS  AND  CROWNS,  CAPS  OF  ESTATE, 
AND  WREATHS 

Crests  within  Crowns;  Nature  and  Treatment 
of  Crowns;  Caps  of  Estate:  Their  possible 
origin  and  introduction  into  Heraldry;  The 
Colour  of  Caps;  The  Placing  of  Crests  upon 
Caps;  Wreaths  or  Torses;  Their  Colour; 
Crests  and  Mottoes  ; Use  of  Crests  by  Bishops  ; 
The  Ensigning  of  Arms  with  Mitres,  Cardinals* 
and  Doctors’  Hats,  and  Caps  of  Estate. 

The  treatment  of  the  crest  varies.  In  the 
earliest  examples  it  is  set  directly  upon  the 
mantled  helm  (fig.  77  and  pis.  xiv  a, 
and  xvii  b),  to  which  it  was  actually 
attached  by  wires  through  holes  on  top. 
But  from  the  first,  large  numbers  of  crests 
were  fixed,  or  rose  as  it  were,  from  within 
a crown  or  coronet  encircling  the  helm,  or 
stood  upon  a cap  or  hat  of  estate  that 
surmounted  it.  (See  figs.  65,  67,  72,  73, 
74,  75,  and  pis.  xiii  e and  F,  xvii  a,  xxi, 
xxii,  xxvii  a,  etc.) 

The  crown  was  merely  ornamental,  and 
had  no  reference  to  the  dignity  of  the 
148 


Fig.  77.  Stall-plate  of  Hugh  lord  Burnell,  c.  1421. 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


wearer,  but  was  used  alike  heraldically  by 
prince  and  peer,  knight  and  esquire,  and 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  cap  of  estate. 

149 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


Crowns  were  anciently  formed  of  a 
number  of  leaves  or  fleurons  set  upright 
upon  the  band,  sometimes  with  lesser 
leaves  or  jewels  between  them ; the  bands 


Fig.  78.  Arms  of  St.  Edmund  from  the  tomb  of  Ed- 
mund duke  of  York,  ob.  1402,  at  King’s  Langley. 

150 


too  were  often  jewelled.  But  in  practice  Crests  and 
only  three  (fig.  78),  or  sometimes  five,  ^own^ 
principal  leaves  are  shown  when  the  crown  £staJe>  an(j 
is  drawn  in  profile  (fig.  83).  Wreaths 

Beyond  the  fact  that  the  thing  was  a 
crown,  there  was  no  strict  rule  as  to  the 
design,  which  varied  according  to  the  taste 
of  the  artist.  Two  examples  among  the 
early  stall-plates  at  Windsor,  those  of  Hugh 
Stafford  lord  Bourchier  (fig.  79  and  pi.  xvi), 
and  Richard  lord  Grey  of  Codnor  (both 
c.  1421),  illustrate  this  in  a pretty  way 
(fig.  80).  In  both  cases  the  plate  after 
being  finished  has  been  cut  up,  partly  re- 
versed, and  in  part  re-engraved  ; not  be- 
cause anything  was  wrong  with  the  heraldry, 
but  to  make  the  crested  helms  face  the  other 
way.  These  have  accordingly  been  turned 
over,  but  in  cutting  them  afresh  the  en- 
graver has  slightly  varied  the  designs  of 
the  crests  and  of  the  crowns  with  which 
each  is  encircled,  without  however  in  any 
way  altering  their  heraldic  character.  In 
the  earliest  existing  plates  the  crested 
helms  are  all  drawn  turned  towards  the 
high  altar,  consequently  those  on  the 
north  side  of  the  quire  face  heraldically 
towards  the  sinister.  The  two  plates  just 
noted,  and  at  least  one  other,  have  been 

151 


Crests  and  transferred  from  one  side  of  the  quire  to 
^Ca^Tof  t^e  ot^er* 

Estate,  and  One  °f  the  ^rst  instances  of  a crown 
Wreaths 


Fig.  79.  Crest  from  the  reverse  of  the  stall-plate  of 
Hugh  Stafford  lord  Bourchier. 


about  a crest  is  on  the  seal  of  William 
Montagu  earl  of  Salisbury,  1337  (pi.  xn). 

Crowns  were  not  by  any  means  always 
of  gold  or  silver,  and  quite  a number  of 
152 


pre-Tudor  stall-plates  have  them  enamelled 
red,  and  in  two  cases  blue. 

These  heraldic  crowns  must  not  be  con- 


Fig.  8o.  Two  forms  of  the  same  crest.  From  the 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


stall-plate  of  Richard  lord  Grey  of  Codnor. 


founded  with  the  coronets,  as  they  are  now 
called,  worn  of  different  patterns  by  peers 
and  peeresses  according  to  their  degree ; 
some  reference  to  these  will  be  made  later. 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


The  cap  of  estate  is  generally  depicted 
in  English  heraldic  art  as  a high  crowned 
conical  hat  or  cap  with  flattened  top,  and 
a broad  brim  lined  with  ermine.  The 
brim  is  usually  turned  up  high  in  front, 
but  gradually  lessens  along  the  sides  to- 
wards the  back,  where  the  brim  extends 
horizontally  to  its  full  width. 

The  cap  of  estate  first  appears,  sur- 
mounted by  his  leopard  crest,  on  the  head 
of  King  Edward  III  in  the  great  seal  made 
for  him  in  February  1339-40  on  his  as- 
sumption of  the  title  of  king  of  France. 
Whether  the  cap  has  any  connexion  with 
the  assumption  of  the  king’s  new  title  it  is 
difficult  to  say,  but  its  more  common  name 
of  ‘cap  of  maintenance’  would  acquire  a 
significant  meaning  could  such  connexion 
be  proved.  It  is  however  more  probable 
that  the  cap  was  worn  by  the  king  for  his 
dignity  of  duke  of  Normandy  and  of 
Aquitaine,  and  it  was  long  the  custom  for 
representatives  of  those  duchies  to  take 
part  in  coronation  processions  wearing 
robes  and  caps  of  estate.  According  to  the 
Little  Device  for  the  Coronation  of  Henry 
VII,  there  were  to  ride  before  the  King  in 
the  procession  from  the  Tower  ‘ij  Squiers 
for  the  kinges  bodie  bearing  in  baudrick 

154 


PLATE  XVI.  STALL-PLATE  OF  WILLIAM  LORD  WILLOUGHBY, 


C.  1421. 


wise  twoo  mantells  furred  wl  Ermyns,  Crests  and 
wearing  twoo  hattes  of  Estate  of  Crymsen  Crowns, 
clothe  of  golde  beked  on,  beks  turnyd  upp  Estate °and 
behinde,  and  furred  also  wl  Ermyns  in  Wreaths 
reprecentacion  of  the  kinges  twoo  duchesses 
of  Gyen.and  Normandie.’* 

Although  the  cap  may  at  first  have  been 
restricted  to  the  king,  it  was  certainly  used 
by  the  sons  of  Edward  III,  and  may  be 
seen  of  like  form  and  fashion  upon  the 
seals  of  Edward  as  prince  of  Wales  (1343), 
of  John  of  Gaunt  as  duke  of  Lancaster 
(1362)  and  of  Edmund  of  Langley  as  duke 
of  York  (pi.  xxi),  and  of  Thomas  of  Wood- 
stock  as  duke  of  Gloucester  in  1385.  It 
was  no  doubt  in  each  case  given  by  per- 
sonal investiture  by  the  Sovereign,  but  only 
to  those  who  were  made  dukes. 

In  heraldry,  however,  the  cap  of  estate 
was  used  after  1350  by  many  who  were 
not  only  dukes  who  had  been  invested  with 
it,  but  by  earls  and  barons  who  had  not 
been  so  invested,  and  even  by  mere 
knights  (pi.  xiii  f). 

It  would  be  as  rash  to  argue  from  this 
that  such  persons  were  all  entitled  to  wear 
for  dignity  the  cap  of  estate,  as  it  would  be 

* L.  G.  Wickham  Legg,  English  Coronation  Records 
(Westminster,  1901),  223. 

155 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


to  insist  that  the  equally  common  use  of  a 
crown  round  the  base  of  a crest  entitled 
every  knight  or  baron  on  whose  seal  it 
occurs  to  wear  a coronet. 

The  colour  of  the  cap  of  estate  was 
almost  invariably  red,  with  a lining  of 
ermine,  but  in  two  of  the  early  stall-plates 
it  is  blue.  The  crest  is  generally  placed 
directly  upon  it,  but  representations  of  two- 
legged  or  four-legged  creatures  often  stand 
upon  the  brim  with  their  feet  on  either  side 
of  the  flat-topped  cap  (figs.  112,  138).  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  crested 
cap  is  always  placed  upon  the  helm,  with 
the  mantling  issuing  from  under  it. 

It  is  a common  practice  now-a-days, 
quite  wrongly,  to  represent  crests  apart 
from  the  helm,  and  as  standing  upon  a 
twisted  bar,  or  wreath  as  it  is  called.  A 
little  research  will  show  that  this  bar  re- 
presents the  twisting  together  of  two  or 
th  ree  differently  coloured  stuffs,  and  fixing 
the  wreath  so  formed  round  the  base  of 
the  crest  to  mask  its  junction  with  the  top 
of  a helm.  Once  invented  it  came  into 
common  use,  and  crests  of  all  kinds  were 
fixed  within  it. 

When  seen  sideways  the  rounded  top  of 
the  helm  causes  the  crest  to  appear  as  if 


standing  upon  the  wreath,  and  this  has  no  Crests  and 
doubt  given  rise  to  the  present  malpractice.  Crowns> 
The  Rev.  C.  Boutell  in  his  smaller  Est*£?  ^n(j 
English  Heraldry  quotes  the  Hastings  brass  Wreaths 
at  Elsing,  of  the  year  1347,  as  the  earliest 
instance  of  a wreath  about  a crest  (fig.  81). 


Fig.  81.  Helm  with  crest  and  wreath  from 
the  Hastings  brass  at  Elsing,  1347. 


But  this  brass  is  probably  French,  and  in 
English  work  the  wreath  does  not  come 
into  being  much  before  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  was  not  regularly 
used  until  about  1450. 

The  wreath  or  torse,  as  it  was  also  called, 
from  being  a twist,  was  usually  of  two 
colours,  derived  from  the  principal  metal 
and  colour  of  the  arms ; but  the  fifteenth 
century  stall-plates  show  many  variations 
from  this  rule.  Thus  Lewis  lord  Bourchier 
(c.  1421)  has  a torse  of  blue,  gold,  and 

157 


Crests  and  black,  and  John  earl  of  Tankerville 
Crowns,  1421)  one  of  green,  red,  and  white. 

Estate, °and  J°hn  lord  Bourchier  ( c . 1421)  and  Henry 
Wreaths  lord  Bourchier  (c.  1452)  both  have  black 
and  green  torses.  Richard  Wydville  lord 
Rivers  (c.  1450)  has  the  crest  issuing  from 
a green  torse,  crested  with  a crown  of  holly 
leaves.  Thomas  lord  Stanley  (c.  1459) 
has  a torse  of  gold  and  blue  with  red 
spots  or  jewels  between,  and  Sir  William 
Chamberlayne  ( c . 1461)  a red  and  blue 
torse. 

The  modern  practice  is  that  the  twists 
of  a torse  shall  be  only  six  in  number; 
but  in  old  heraldry  there  was  no  such  rule, 
and  any  number  from  four  may  be  found, 
whatever  would  look  best.  In  the  Har- 
sick  brass  (fig.  82)  there  are  eleven  twists. 

Crests  occasionally  had  mottoes  or 
‘words’  associated  with  them,  quite  apart 
from  the  ordinary  ‘work’  or  ‘reason’  of 
the  family  or  individual.  Thus  the  ermine 
bush  of  feathers  that  formed  the  crest  of 
Sir  Simon  Felbrigge  is  accompanied  on  his 
stall-plate  (c.  1421)  by  a scroll  lettered 
SttltJ  inner  (fig.  83),  and  on  that  of  John 
lord  Scrope  (el.  1461)  the  crest,  which  is 
likewise  a bush  of  feathers,  has  above  it  the 
‘reason’  nittrc  (|5=cUc*  Two  of  the  fine 

158 


Fig.  82.  Helm  with  crest  and  torse  and 
simple  form  of  mantling,  from  the  Har- 
sick  brass  at  Southacre,  1384. 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


Fig.  83.  Stall-plate  of  Sir  Simon  Felbrigge, 
c.  1421. 


seals  of  Richard  Nevill  earl  of  Salisbury 
(1428-60)  have  behind  his  demi-griffin 
160 


PLATE  XVII. — Crests  with  mottoes. 


crest  a scroll  lettered  apparently  IltCt  [or  bfl]  Crests  and 
-plcficr  (pi.  xvii  a,  ancj  xxn  b)  and  the  Crowns, 
seal  of  John  Talbot  earl  of  Shrewsbury,  Estate,  and 
as  marshal  of  France  (1445),  has  a scroll  Wreaths 
with  his  ‘word’  issuing  from  the  mouth 
of  his  lion  crest  (pi.  xvii  b). 

From  what  has  been  said  above  as  to 
the  ancient  association  of  helm  and  crest, 
it  follows  that  the  present  fashion  of  re- 
presenting the  crest  by  itself,  apart  from 
the  helm  to  which  it  was  always  attached, 
is  entirely  wrong.  It  at  once  renders  the 
crest  meaningless  : in  appearance  it  forth- 
with becomes  insignificant ; and  attempts 
to  treat  it  artistically  generally  end  in 
failure. 

Let  crests  be  shown  as  crests,  properly 
set  upon  practicable  helms,  and  with 
competent  mantlings  treated  with  all  the 
freedom  that  they  are  capable  of. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  it  has  not  been 
customary,  nor  is  it  logically  correct,  for 
ladies  and  other  non-combatant  persons, 
such  as  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  to  use 
crests;  arms  they  have  ever  been  allowed 
to  bear.  Examples,  however,  of  the  breach 
of  the  rule  as  to  crests  even  by  bishops 
are  afforded  by  several  of  their  privy  seals. 

Thus  Henry  le  Despenser  bishop  of 

161 


L 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


Norwich  (1370-1406)  has  his  differenced 
shield  of  arms  surmounted  by  a mantled 
helm  upon  which  a mitre,  with  a griffin’s 
head  and  wings  issuing  therefrom,  is  placed 
as  a crest  (fig.  84) ; and  Alexander  Nevill 
archbishop  of  York  (1374)  shows  his  shield 


Fig.  84.  Privy  seal  of  Henry  le  Despenser 
bishop  of  Norwich,  1370-1406. 


hanging  below  a crowned  helm  surmounted 
by  the  bull’s  head  crest  of  his  house  and 
supported  by  two  griffins. 

William  Courtenay,  as  archbishop  of 
Canterbury  (1381-96),  similarly  displays  a 
shield  of  his  arms,  ensigned  by  a helm  sur- 
mounted by  a cap  of  estate  with  a dolphin 
on  top.  A helm  crested  with  a lovely 
bunch  of  columbines  is  also  carved  with 
his  arms  above  the  tomb  of  James  Goldwell 
162 


bishop  of  Norwich  ( ob . 1498-9)  in  his 
cathedral  church. 

Robert  Nevill  on  his  privy  seal  as  bishop 
of  Durham  (1438-57)  surmounts  his  shield 
with  a beautiful  labelled  mitre,  from  which 
issues  a bull’s  head  with  a scroll  lettered 

cit  grace  afftc* 

Many  of  the  bishops  of  Durham,  on 
their  great  seals  in  chancery,  in  virtue  of 
their  secular  palatinate  jurisdiction,  are 
represented  as  riding  in  complete  armour 
with  helms  on  their  heads.  The  first  to 
be  so  represented  was  Thomas  Hatfield 
(1345)  who  wears  a large  crowned  helm 
surmounted  by  a mitre,  from  which  issues 
a bush  of  feathers.  John  Fordham  (1381) 
also  surmounts  his  crowned  helm  with  a 
mitre,  on  which  is  perched  a bird.  Walter 
Skirlaw  (1388)  and  Thomas  Langley  (1406) 
set  within  the  crowns  crests  without  mitres  ; 
in  one  case  the  bust  of  an  angel,  in  the 
other  a bush  of  feathers.  Robert  Nevill 
(1438)  surmounts  his  crowned  helm  with 
a mitre,  from  which  issues  a bull’s  head,  as 
on  his  privy  seal  above  noted.  Cuthbert 
Tunstall  (1530)  has  a mitre  alone  upon  his 
helm. 

The  usual  practice  in  displaying  a bishop’s 
arms  has  been,  for  a long  time,  to  ensign 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


Crests  and 
Crowns, 
Caps  of 
Estate,  and 
Wreaths 


them  simply  with  his  own  official  headgear 
in  the  shape  of  a mitre,  and  the  same 
custom  prevailed  with  regard  to  the  arms 
of  mitred  abbots  and  priors.  Robert 
Nevill’s  privy  seal  is  an  early  example. 

Cardinals  ensigned  their  shields  with  the 
tasselled  hat  of  their  order,  as  may  be  seen 
on  the  seal-of-arms  of  Henry  Beaufort 
bishop  of  Winchester  (1405),  and  in  a 
carving  of  his  arms  in  Southwark  cathedral 
church.  A cardinal’s  hat  is  displayed,  with 
his  rebus  and  sundry  royal  badges,  on  the 
arch  about  the  cenotaph  of  John  Morton 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  cardinal  in 
the  undercroft  of  his  cathedral  church. 

Doctors  also  sometimes  surmounted  their 
arms  with  the  round  cap  pertaining  to  their 
dignity. 

On  the  monument  at  St.  Albans  of 
Humphrey  duke  of  Gloucester  ( ob . 1446) 
his  arms  are  ensigned  alternately  by  his 
mantled  and  crested  helm,  and  by  a large 
cap  of  estate  encircled  by  a crown  or  coro- 
net. Jasper  duke  of  Bedford  (1485)  on  his 
seal  likewise  surmounts  his  arms  with  a 
cap  of  estate  encircled  by  a delicate  crown. 

There  is  not  any  necessity  at  the  present 
day  to  represent  any  crown  or  coronet  with 
the  cap  of  estate  within  it. 

164 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  USE  OF  BADGES,  KNOTS,  AND 
THE  REBUS 

Definition  of  a Badge;  Difference  between 
Crests  and  Badges;  Examples  of  Badges;  The 
Ostrich-Feather  Badge;  The  White  Hart,  etc.; 
Introduction  of  Badges  into  Heraldry;  Their 
Prevalence;  Allusive  Badges;  Badges  of  obscure 
Origin;  Knots  and  Badges;  The  Rebus 

Closely  allied  with  crests,  but  borne  and 
used  in  an  entirely  different  way,  are  the 
devices  called  badges. 

The  whole  history  of  these  is  in  itself 
of  great  interest,  and  the  facility  with  which 
they  lend  themselves  to  artistic  heraldic 
decoration  renders  badges  of  peculiar  value. 

A badge  is,  properly  speaking,  any  dis- 
tinctive device,  emblem,  or  figure,  assumed 
as  the  mark  or  cognisance  of  an  individual 
or  family  : and  it  should  be  borne  alone, 
without  any  shield,  torse,  or  other  accessory. 
But  a badge  may  be  and  often  was,  like  a 
crest,  accompanied  by  a word,  reason, 
or  motto.  There  is  however  this  im- 
portant difference  between  a crest  and  a 

165 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


badge,  that  the  crest  was  pre-eminently  the 
personal  device  of  its  owner,  while  his 
badge  might  also  he  used  by  his  servants 
and  retainers.  Such  a use  of  the  badge 
still  survives  in  the  ‘crest’  on  the  buttons 
of  liveried  servants. 

The  most  famous  and  best  known  badge 
is  that  of  the  three  ostrich  feathers  en- 
circled by  a crown  or  coronet  borne  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  It  was  probably  intro- 
duced by  Queen  Philippa,  who  is  known 
to  have  possessed  plate  ornamented  with 
‘a  black  scocheon  of  ostrich  feathers,’ 
perhaps  allusive  of  the  Comte  of  Ostrevant, 
the  appanage  of  the  eldest  sons  of  the 
house  of  Hainault.  A single  ostrich 
feather,  alone  or  stuck  in  a scroll,  occurs 
after  1343  in  several  seals  of  Edward 
prince  of  Wales,  and  on  his  tomb  at 
Canterbury  the  shield  of  his  own  arms 
alternates  with  his  mother’s  black  shield 
with  three  silver  ostrich  feathers,  each  trans- 
fixing a scroll  with  the  word  id)  btCItC ; 
over  the  shield  is  likewise  a scroll  in- 
scribed with  the  same  words  (fig.  85). 
John  of  Gaunt  duke  of  Lancaster  is  said 
to  have  borne  an  ostrich  feather  powdered 
with  ermine  tails,  and  Thomas  of  Wood- 
stock  duke  of  Gloucester,  the  youngest 

166 


of  Queen  Philippa’s  sons,  bore  the  feathers 
with  a strap  (which  some  have  regarded  as 
a Garter)  extended  along  the  quill  (fig.  86). 
The  Queen’s  great-grandson,  Richard  duke 
of  York  and  earl  of  March  (1436),  bore 
the  feather  with  a chain  similarly  placed  ; 


Fig.  85.  Shield  with  ostrich-feather  badge 
from  the  tomb  of  Edward  Prince  of 
Wales  ( ob . 1376)  at  Canterbury. 

perhaps  Edmund  of  Langley,  his  grand- 
father, had  done  the  same.  Henry  of 
Lancaster,  the  son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  on  his 
seal  as  earl  of  Derby  in  1385  (pi.  xxiv  c) 
and  on  that  as  duke  of  Hereford  in  1399, 
has  an  ostrich  feather  stuck  in  the  end  of  a 
scroll  which  is  entwined  about  the  feather 
and  inscribed  with  the  significant  word 
3lWtocret)UC,  and  the  same  word  is  re- 

167 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


peated  many  times  on  his  tomb  as  King 
Henry  IV  at  Canterbury. 

Another  notable  badge  is  the  couched 
white  hart  of  King  Richard  II,  with  which 
may  be  named  the  white  hind  borne  by  his 


Fig.  86.  Seal  of  Thomas  of  Woodstock  duke 
of  Gloucester  with  ostrich  feather  and 
Bohun  swan  badges. 

kinsman,  Thomas  Holand  earl  of  Kent 
(pi.  xvm  b). 

The  fetterlock-and-falcon  (fig.  87)  and 
the  white  rose  of  the  house  of  York,  the 
white  lion  of  the  earls  of  March,  the  rayed 
rose  of  Edward  IV,  and  the  silver  boar  of 
Richard  III,  are  of  course  well-known 

168 


badges ; as  well  as  the  red  and  the  red  and  The  use  of 
white  roses,  the  crowned  fleur-de-lis,  and  badges, 
the  Beaufort  portcullis,  used  by  the  Tudor  the°Rebus 
kings  (fig.  88). 


Fig.  87.  Fetterlock-and-falcon  badge  of 
the  house  of  York,  from  Henry  VIFs 
chapel  at  Westminster. 


When  badges  first  came  into  use  in  this 
country  is  uncertain,  but  after  the  middle 
of  the  fourteenth  century  they  abound. 
They  are  foreshadowed  by  the  free  treat- 

169 


The  use  of  ment  of  earlier  decorative  heraldry,  such 
Badges,  as  tjie  little  leopards  on  the  footgear  and 
thne°Rebus  pillows  of  King  Henry  Ill’s  gilt-latten 
effigy  at  Westminster,  and  the  plate  with 


Fig.  88.  Crowned  rose  and  portcullis  from  King’s 
college  chapel  at  Cambridge. 

its  lozengy  diaper  of  leopards  on  which  it 
lies ; also  the  lozengy  diaper  of  castles 
and  lions  which  covers  the  metal  plate 
whereon  lies  the  effigy  of  Queen  Eleanor 
of  Castile. 


Many  badges,  too,  originated  in  devices  The  use  of 
borrowed  from  various  sources  and  arranged  ^^ges’  j 
about  the  shield  on  seals,  as  in  figs.  89  and  tjie  ^tb'us 


Fig.  89.  Seal  of  Robert  de  Clifford,  with 
arms  surrounded  by  rings  in  allusion  to 
his  mother  Isabel  Vipont. 


Fig.  90.  Seal  of  Robert  de  Toni  as 
chevaler  au  cing  with  the  arms  en- 
circled by  swans  and  talbots. 


171 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


90,  which  are  only  two  out  of  a number 
of  such  appended  to  the  Barons’  Letter. 

The  famous  white  swan  badge  of  the 
Bohuns  (fig.  91)  is  found  perched  upon  the 
shield  in  the  seal  of  Humphrey  Bohun  earl 
of  Hereford  and  Essex,  1298  (pi.  xix  b). 


Fig.  91.  Seal  of  Oliver  Bohun  with  swans 
about  the  shield. 

Later  on  its  neck  was  encircled  by  a crown 
for  a collar,  with  a chain  attached,  and  in 
this  form  it  appears  on  the  seals  of  Thomas 
of  Woodstock,  who  married  Eleanor  Bohun 
(fig.  86),  and  on  that  lady’s  brass  at  West- 
minster. It  was  also  borne  by  the  sons  and 
descendants  of  King  Henry  IV  by  his  wife 
Mary  Bohun. 

The  gilt-latten  effigies  of  Richard  II 
(fig.  92)  and  Anne  of  Bohemia  have  their 
dresses  pounced  all  over  with  badges,  such 
172 


as  the  white  hart,  the  sun-burst,  and  the  The  use  of 
broom  sprigs  on  that  of  the  king,  and  the  K^^and 

the  Rebus 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


ostrich  and  a peculiar  knot  on  that  of  the 
queen.  In  1380  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of 
March  left  a bequest  of  ‘our  large  bed 
of  black  satin  embroidered  with  white  lions 
and  gold  roses,  with  scocheons  of  the  arms 
of  Mortimer  and  Ulster,’  and  in  1385 
Joan  princess  of  Wales  bequeathed  to 
her  son  the  King  (Richard  II)  ‘my  new 
bed  of  red  velvet  embroidered  with  ostrich 
feathers  and  leopards’  heads  of  gold 
with  boughs  and  leaves  issuing  from 
their  mouths.’  In  1397,  Sir  Ralph 
Hastings,  whose  arms  were  a red  maunch 
or  sleeve  on  a gold  ground,  and  his  crest 
a bull’s  head,  left  bequests  of  a silver  bason 
and  laver  ‘stamped  with  a bull’s  head 
{cum  capite  tauri ),  a vestment  of  red-cloth 
of  gold  with  orfreys  before  and  behind 
worked  with  maunches  {cum  maunches ) and 
with  the  colours  of  mine  arms,’  and  six 
salts  stamped  with  maunches.  In  1388 
John  of  Gaunt  duke  of  Lancaster  men- 
tions in  his  will  ‘my  great  bed  of  cloth  of 
gold,  the  field  powdered  with  roses  of  gold 
set  upon  pipes  of  gold,  and  in  each  pipe 
two  white  ostrich  feathers,’  also  ‘my  new 
vestment  of  cloth  of  gold,  the  field  red 
worked  with  gold  falcons.’  Two  falcons 
holding  hanging  locks  in  their  beaks  are  also 

174 


shown  on  one  of  the  duke’s  seals  (pi.  xxi  a). 
In  1400  Thomas  Beauchamp  earl  of  War- 
wick left  a bed  of  silk  embroidered  with 
4 bears  of  mine  arms  ’ ; and  in  141 5 John  lord 
le  Scrope  mentions  in  his  will  documents 
sealed  cum  signato  meo  de  Crabb , and  in  a 
codicil  made  in  1453  he  bequeaths  ‘j  fayre 
pile  of  coppis  conteynmg  xij  coppis  of  gilt, 
with  crabbis  in  ye  myddes,  and  two 
coveryngis  to  thame  with  crabb.’  In  the 
north  of  England  a crab  is  often  called  a 
scrap,  whence  its  assumption  by  the  Scropes. 

Such  examples  as  the  foregoing  could  be 
multiplied  indefinitely,  but  they  will  suffice 
to  show  the  prevalence  of  badges  and  the 
many  ways  in  which  they  were  used. 
They  of  course  abounded  on  seals  as  well 
as  on  monuments  of  all  kinds,  and  in  con- 
junction with  architecture.  Under  this  last 
head  may  be  quoted  such  examples  as  the 
arches  in  Wingfield  church,  Suffolk  (fig.  93), 
studded  with  leopards’  heads,  wings,  and 
Stafford  knots,  commemorative  of  Michael 
de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk  ( ob . 1415)  and 
his  wife  Katharine  Stafford  ; the  porch  and 
other  parts  of  Lavenham  church,  displaying 
the  boars  and  molets  of  John  de  Vere  earl 
of  Oxford  ; bishop  Courtenay’s  chimney- 
piece  in  the  bishop’s  palace  at  Exeter 

I7S 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


Fig.  93.  Piers  and  arches  in  Wingfield  church,  Suffolk,  with 
badges  of  Michael  de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk  ( ob . 1415)  and 
his  wife  Katharine  Stafford. 


t 


of  bishop  Peter  Courtenay,  1478-87. 


Fig.  95.  Gateway  to  the  Deanery  at  Peterborough.  Built  by  Robert  Kirkton 

abbot  1497-1526. 


Fig.  97.  Bronze  door  with  badges  of  York  and  Beaufort 
from  the  Lady  chapel  of  Westminster  abbey  church. 


(fig.  94);  and  the  great  displays  of  Tudor 
badges  on  the  deanery  gateway  at  Peter- 
borough (fig.  95),  the  gatehouses  at  Christ’s 
(fig.  96)  and  St.  John’s  Colleges  (fig.  172)  at 
Cambridge,  and  the  noble  chapel  of  King’s 
College.  Special  mention  must  also  be 


Fig.  98.  Signet  with 
badge  and  crested 
helm  of  Lewis  lord 
Bourchier,  1420. 


Fig.  99.  Seal  of  Hugh 
de  Veer,  with  boar 
badge  and  two  wivers 
as  supporters.  From 
the  Barons’  Letter. 


made  of  the  magnificent  bronze  doors  of 
Henry  VII’s  chapel  at  Westminster,  than 
which  no  more  beautiful  example  of  the  use 
of  badges  for  decorative  purposes  could 
possibly  be  found  (fig.  97). 

The  sources  of  badges  were  various.  As 
a matter  of  fact  a man’s  badge  was  often 
the  same  device  as  his  crest,  like  the 

181 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


Courtenay  dolphin,  or  the  boar  of  the 
Veres,  or  the  sickle  of  the  Hungerfords. 
Sometimes  the  badge  was  derived  from  a 
part  of  the  arms,  such  as  the  leopards’ 
heads  and  the  wings  of  the  de  la  Poles,  the 
water-bougets  of  the  Bourchiers  (fig.  98), 
the  silver  molet  of  the  Veres  (fig.  99),  and 


Fig.  ioo.  Signet  of 
William  Phelip 
lord  Bardolf,  c.  1410, 
with  eagle  badge  de- 
rived from  his  arms. 


Fig.  ioi.  Signet  with 
flote  badge  and 
word  of  Sir  William 
Oldhalle  in  1457. 


the  Phelip  eagle  (fig.  100).  If  by  chance 
a badge  could  have  any  punning  or  allusive 
meaning  it  was  the  more  popular,  and  it 
then  often  served  as  a rebus.  The  boar 
( verre ) of  the  Veres  (fig.  99),  the  crab  or 
scrap  of  the  Scropes,  the  pike  or  luce  of 
the  Lucys,  the  long  swords  of  Longespee 
(pi.  xix  a),  the  gray  or  badger  of  Richard 
lord  Grey  of  Codnor  (fig.  102),  and  the 
wood-stock  or  tree  stump  of  Thomas  duke 
of  Gloucester,  who  was  born  at  Wood- 
stock,  are  all  good  examples  of  a practice 
182 


that  should  be  followed  whenever  possible, 
even  in  these  degenerate  days. 

But  in  a large  number  of  cases  the  badge 


Fig.  102.  Seal  with  badge  (a  gray  or  badger) 
of  Richard  lord  Grey  of  Codnor,  1392. 


Fig.  103.  Seal  of  Thomas  lord  Stanley  as  earl 
of  Derby  and  seneschal  of  Macclesfield, 
1485,  with  the  eagle’s  claw  badge  of  Stanley 
and  the  legs  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 

183 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


The  use  of  has  a different  and  often  quite  obscure 
Badges,  origin,  like  the  Bohun  swan,  the  Percy 
the  Rebus  crescent  and  swivel,  the  Beauchamp  bear 


Fig.  104.  Daisy  plant  ( marguerite ),  badge  of 
the  Lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  from  Henry 
VII’s  chapel  at  Westminster. 

and  ragged  staff,  the  Lovel  hanging-lock, 
the  Zouch  eagle  and  crooked  billet,  and  the 
Berkeley  mermaid. 

A few  families,  e.g.  the  Staffords  (fig. 
105),  the  Bourchiers,  and  the  Wakes,  used 
as  a badge  some  special  form  of  knot,  and 
184 


attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  The  use  of 
peculiar  knots  pounced  upon  the  effigy  of  Radges,  ^ 


Fig.  105.  Part  of  the  brass  at  Exeter  of  canon 
Langeton,  kinsman  of  Edward  Stafford  bishop  of 
Exeter,  1413,  in  cope  with  an  orphrey  of  £’s  and 
Stafford  knots. 


Queen  Anne  of  Bohemia.  Interesting 
examples  of  the  Bourchier  knot  may  be 
seen  on  the  tomb  of  archbishop  Thomas 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


Fig.  106.  Elbow-piece  and  Bourchier  knot,  from 
the  brass  of  Sir  Humphrey  Bourchier,  ob. 
1471,  in  Westminster  abbey  church. 


Bourchier  at  Canterbury,  and  on  the  brass 
of  Sir  Humphrey  Bourchier  at  Westminster 
186 


Fig.  107.  Alabaster  tomb  and  effigy  of  Edward  Stafford 
earl  of  Wiltshire,  ob.  1498,  in  Lowick  church,  Northamp- 
tonshire. 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


(106),  and  a good  instance  of  the  application 
of  the  knot  is  afforded  by  the  seal  of  Joan 
Stafford  countess  of  Kent  and  lady  of 
Wake,  who  encircles  her  impaled  shield 
with  a cordon  of  Stafford  knots  (pi.  xvm  d). 
On  the  tomb  at  Lowick  (Northants)  of 


Fig.  108.  Rebus  of 
abbot  Robert  Kirk- 
ton,  from  the  Deanery 
Gate  at  Peterborough. 


Fig.  109.  Rebus  of 
Thomas  Becking- 
ton  bishopof  Bath 
and  Wells,  1477. 


Edward  Stafford  earl  of  Wiltshire,  ob.  1498, 
the  shields  are  encircled  with  cordons  of 
Stafford  knots  with  another  Stafford  badge, 
the  nave  of  a wheel,  alternating  with  the 
knots  (fig.  107).  On  the  canopy  of  the  tomb 
at  Little  Easton  in  Essex  of  Henry  Bour- 
chier  earl  of  Essex  ( ob . 1483)  and  his  wife 
Isabel,  sister  of  Richard  duke  of  York,  is  a 
badge  formed  by  placing  a Bourchier  knot 
within  a fetterlock  of  York. 

188 


PLATE  XVIII. — Examples  of  supporters. 


Mention  has  been  made  above  of  the  The  use  of 

rebus.  This  was  invariably  a badge  or  Badges, 
i • p j Knots,  and 

device  forming  a pun  upon  a man  s sur-  tjie  RebUs 

name,  and  at  one  time  was  exceedingly 

popular.  It  no  doubt  originated  in  the 


Fig.  iio.  Rebus  of  John  Islip  abbot  of 
Wesminster,  from  his  chantry  chapel. 

canting  or  allusive  heraldry  of  earlier 
days,  like  the  boars’  heads  of  the  Swyn- 
burnes,  the  trumpets  of  the  Trumpingtons, 
the  hammers  (Fr.  martel ) of  the  Martels, 
01  the  scallop  shells  of  the  Scales.  The  ox 
crossing  a ford  in  the  arms  of  Oxford,  and 
the  Cam  and  its  great  bridge  in  the  arms  of 
Cambridge  are  also  kindred  examples.  A 
large  number  of  rebuses  on  names  ending 

189 


Fig.  iii.  Oriel  window  in  the  Deanery  at  Wells  with  badge 
of  King  Edward  IV,  and  rebus  of  Dean  Gunthorpe. 


in  ‘ton’  are  based  upon  a tun  or  barrel,  The  use  of 

like  the  lup  on  a ton  of  Robert  Lupton  badges, 
r x-  ,1  Knots,  and 

provost  or  hton  1 503-4,  or  the  large  tjie  Rebus 

church  {kirk)  and  ton  of  abbot  Kirkton  on 


Fig.  1 12.  Arms  and  rebus  of  Sir  John  Pechey, 
ob.  1522,  from  painted  glass  in  Lullingstone 
church,  Kent. 


the  deanery  gate  at  Peterborough  (fig.  108), 
or  the  beacon  rising  from  a ton  of  bishop 
Thomas  Beckington  at  Wells  (fig.  109). 
The  gold  wells  of  bishop  Goldwell  and  the 
harts  ly ing  in  water  of  bishop  Walter  Lyhart 

191 


The  use  of 
Badges, 
Knots,  and 
the  Rebus 


in  their  cathedral  church  at  Norwich  are  well 
known,  as  are  probably  the  eye  and  the  slip 
of  a tree  which  form,  together  with  a man 
falling  from  a tree  (I  slip  !),  the  rebuses  of 
abbot  Islip  at  Westminster  (fig.  no).  An 
ox,  the  letter  N,  and  a bridge , make  the  rebus 
of  canon  John  Oxenbridge  in  his  chantry 
chapel  at  Windsor,  while  an  eagle  and  an 
ox  with  UC  on  his  side  gives  the  name  of 
prior  John  Oxney  at  Christchurch,  Canter- 
bury. Two  large  hares  with  a spring  or  well 
rising  between  them  crouch  at  the  feet  of 
bishop  H arewell’s  effigy  at  Wells  ; and  dean 
Gunthorpe’s  oriel  window  in  the  deanery 
there  is  decorated  with  guns  (fig.  in).  Sir 
John  Pechey’s  arms  ( azure  a lion  ermine  with 
a forked  tail  and  a gold  crown),  in  a window 
in  Lullingstone  church,  Kent,  are  encircled 
by  a wreath  of  peach-branches,  with  peaches 
charged  with  the  letter  C for  the  final 
syllable  of  his  name  (fig.  112). 

Here  again  it  is  needless  to  multiply 
examples  of  rebuses,  but  the  fun  to  be  got 
out  of  them  is  ample  justification  for  urging 
their  adoption  and  use  in  connexion  with 
decorative  heraldry.* 

* The  Rev.  E.  E.  Dorling  has  taken  for  his  rebus 
a little  door  (doorling  !)  with  the  hinges  ending  in 
E’s,  and  the  author  of  this  book  might  fitly  content 
himself  with  the  anchor  of  Hope  ! 

192 


PLATE  XIX.— Origin  of  supporters. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SUPPORTERS 

The  probable  Origin  of  Supporters ; Quasi- 
Supporters;  True  Supporters  : their  Introduc- 
tion ; Supporters  of  Crested  Helms ; Pairs  of 
Supporters;  Dissimilar  Supporters  ; The  use  of 
Supporters  by  Ladies;  Other  ways  of  supporting 
Shields. 

The  misuse  of  crests  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  unfortunately  does  not 
stand  alone,  for  modern  artists  are  quite  as 
much  at  fault  with  regard  to  the  proper 
treatment  of  supporters. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these 
charming  adjuncts  to  heraldic  compositions 
originated  with  the  seal  engravers,  in  their 
desire  to  fill  up  the  vacant  space  in  a round 
seal  between  the  shield  and  its  surrounding 
margin.  In  the  oldest  examples  this  was 
done  by  adding  scrollwork  or  leafage,  but 
in  the  seal  of  Humphrey  Bohun  earl  of 
Hereford,  1220,  the  large  shield  of  his 
arms  is  flanked  by  two  smaller  shields  of 
his  other  earldom  of  Essex.  The  same 


N 


193 


Supporters  treatment  occurs  in  the  seal  of  his  grand- 
son, another  Humphrey  Bohun  earl  of 
Hereford  and  Essex,  1298-1322  (pi. 
xix  b).  Henry  de  Laci  (1257)  has  the 
side  spaces  filled  by  two  small  wivers,  and 
in  the  seal  of  Stephen  Longespee  ( ob . 1260) 
the  shield  is  flanked  by  two  long  swords 
(pi.  xix  a).  Gilbert  of  Clare  earl  of 
Gloucester  (1262)  has  his  shield  hung  on 
a peg  and  accompanied  by  two  lions  back 
to  back,  while  in  the  seal  of  Edmund  earl 
of  Cornwall  (1272)  and  son  of  Richard  king 
of  the  Romans  the  shield  is  held  up  in 
the  beak  of  an  imperial  eagle  splayed  or 
spread  out  behind  it.  Thomas  earl  of 
Lancaster  (1296)  on  both  his  larger  and 
his  lesser  seals  has  the  shield  flanked  by 
two  wivers,  as  has  also  his  brother  Henry 
of  Lancaster  (1298)  (fig.  6o). 

Sometimes  the  shield  is  hung  about  the 
neck  of  a bird  (fig.  113),  or  about  a beast, 
as  in  the  seal  of  Alan  la  Souche,  which 
likewise  has  the  shield  surrounded  by  a 
number  of  lions  (fig.  114). 

During  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth 
century  little  definite  progress  was  made 
towards  true  supporters.  Shields,  whether 
hung  from  pegs  or  upon  trees,  or  sur- 
mounted by  crested  helms,  still  continued 
194 


to  be  flanked  by  quasi-supporters,  which  of  Supporters 
course  varied  much  in  character. 

Pairs  of  wivers,  dragons,  and  lions, 
usually  back  to  back,  the  better  to  fit  the 
space,  and  sometimes  with  entwined  tails, 
were  common  early  in  the  century,  and 


Fig.  i 13.  Seal  of  John  de  Moun  with  the  shield 
slung  from  an  eagle  and  flanked  by  two 
leopards.  From  the  Barons’  Letter. 

shields  with  splayed  eagles  behind  may  not 
infrequently  be  found  (figs.  1 1 5,  116). 

What  may  be  regarded  as  true  supporters 
appear  on  the  lesser  seal  (pi.  xn  a)  of 
William  Montagu  earl  of  Salisbury,  circa 
1 3 37,  wherein  two  griffins  seem  to  be 
holding  up  the  shield,  but  it  is  not  until 
well  on  in  the  second  half  of  the  fourteenth 
century  that  further  definite  instances  be- 
come fairly  common. 


I9S 


Supporters  Interesting  transitional  usages  may.  also 
be  found.  Thus  on  a seal  ( c . 1350)  of 
Margaret  Graunson,  two  wivers  uphold  by 
their  beaks  the  upper  corners  of  a shield  of 
her  husband’s  arms,  while  a third  wiver 


Fig.  1 14.  Seal  of  Alan  la  So.uche  in  1301. 

similarly  grips  the  point.  Guy  de  Bryen 
( c . 1350)  has  his  shield  hung  upon  a tree 
and  supported  at  the  corners  by  two  wivers 
holding  it  by  their  beaks.  Another  lady, 
Joan  FitzAlan,  who  married  in  1362 
Humphrey  Bohun  earl  of  Hereford,  has 
an  impaled  shield  of  their  arms  held  up  in 
their  beaks  by  two  Bohun  swans;  and 
another  pair  of  swans  perform  the  same 
office  in  a FitzWarin  seal  used  in  1398-9 
(pi.  xx. a). 

196 


A curious  variant  from  the  ordinar}/  Supporters 
flanking  pair  of  beasts  occurs  on  the  seal 


Fig.  i i 5.  Seal  of  John  Beauchamp  of  Hacche, 
with  shield  on  breast  of  an  eagle. 


Fig.  1 16.  Seal  of  William  de  Ferrers  with  shield 
upon  an  eagle  with  two  heads. 

of  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of  March 
(1360-81),  where  the  arms  are  accompanied 

197 


Supporters  by  a pair  of  lions  with  their  heads  covered 
by  large  helms  with  the  earl’s  crest,  a bush 
of  feathers  rising  from  a crown.  A similar 
treatment  is  to  be  seen  on  a seal  of  John 
la  Warre,  as  used  in  1390  (pi.  xx  d). 

Analogous  cases  will  be  noted  on  the 
seal  of  Sir  Robert  de  Marm  (1366)  (fig. 
64)  whose  shield  hangs  from  a tree  and  is 
flanked  by  two  fronting  helms  with  tall 
pairs  of  wings  rising  from  caps  of  estate  as 
crests ; also  in  a seal  of  Sir  Bartholomew 
Burghersh  (1397-8)  which  has  the  shield 
flanked  by  two  helms  crested  with  tall 
soldans’  heads,  and  surmounted  by  what 
is  probably- his  badge,  a swan  with  a lady’s 
head  (pi.  xx  c).  A seal  of  Sir  Roger 
Scales  (1369-86)  has  his  seal  flanked  by 
two  long-necked  wivers,  and  hung  by  a 
strap  from  another  wiver  which  has  twisted 
itself  into  the  shape  of  the  letter  S,  and 
perched  itself  on  the  upper  edge  of  the 
shield. 

Another  case  of  true  supporters  is 
afforded  by  a seal  of  Peter  de  Mauley  in 
1 379-8°,  where  a shield  surmounted  by  a 
fierce  dragon  (perhaps  a badge)  is  upheld 
by  small  lions  (pi.  xx  b).  Other  supporters 
of  shields  only  may  be  seen  on  seals  of 
Thomas  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick  (1369) 
198 


Ivo  FitzWarin,  in  1398-9. 


John  la  Warre,  in  1390. 


PLATE  XX.— Shields  with  supporters. 


PLATE  XXI. — Shields  accompanied  by  Badges. 


where  they  are  bears ; and  of  Roger  Mor-  Supporters 
timer  earl  of  March  and  Ulster  (1381) 
where  they  are  lions,  as  is  also  the  case  in 
a seal  of  John  Batour  used  in  1418-19. 

In  each  of  these  cases  the  shield  is  hung 
upon  a tree. 

In  heraldic  representations  where  the 
shield  of  arms  is  surmounted  by  a helm 
and  crest,  there  is  the  same  hesitation  in 
arriving  at  true  supporters ; the  space  at 
the  sides  being  filled  at  first  by  a badge 
or  such  device.  Thus  John  of  Gaunt 
duke  of  Lancaster  (in  1362)  introduced  a 
pair  of  eagles  with  hanging  locks  in 
their  beaks,  and  his  brother  Edmund  of 
Langley  duke  of  York  (in  1385)  followed 
suit  with  a couple  of  falcons  having  in  their 
beaks  scrolls  with  scriptures  (pi.  xxi). 

John  Nevill  lord  of  Raby  and  seneschal  of 
Bordeaux  (1378)  flanked  his  arms,  etc.  with 
two  letters  l),  while  his  kinsmen,  Sir  William 
Nevill,  used  in  1390  a seal  with  his  arms 
and  crested  helm  accompanied  by  two  large 
stars. 

The  fine  seal  of  Thomas  lord  Despenser 
(before  1397)  has  on  either  side  of  his 
shield  and  crested  helm  a tree  from  which 
hangs  a lozenge  of  arms  : the  one  bearing 
the  three  cheverons  of  Clare,  for  his  lordship 

199 


Supporters  of  Glamorgan ; the  other  the  forked- 
tailed  lion  of  the  barony  of  Burghersh 
which  came  to  him  through  his  mother 
(pi.  xxn  a).  Richard  Nevill  earl  of  Salis- 
bury in  1429  similarly  places  two  angels 
bearing  shields : one  with  the  arms  of 

Nevill, theotherwith  the  lions  of  Longespee 
in  virtue  of  his  earldom  of  Salisbury  (pi. 
xxii  b).  Henry  of  Lancaster  (afterwards 
King  Henry  IV)  as  earl  of  Derby,  etc., 
(c.  1385)  flanks  his  arms  and  crested  helm 
with  two  ostrich  feathers  entwined  with  a 
scroll  with  the  scripture  0DUUCrCl)UC  (pi. 
xxiv  c),  and  others  of  the  royal  house 
similarly  used  ostrich  feathers  of  other 
forms.  Edward  V as  prince  of  Wales  in 
1471  flanked  his  arms  with  two  scrolled 
ostrich  feathers  standing  on  large  York 
roses.  Thomas  duke  of  Exeter  (1416) 
placed  a swan  on  either  side  of  his  armorial 
achievement,,  and  William  lord  Lovel  and 
Holand  (1423)  a hanging  lock  (pi.  xxm  a)  ; 
while  Sir  John  Pelham  ( c . 1430)  flanked 
his  crest  with  his  buckle  badge  (pi.  xxm  b). 
On  the  fine  seal  of  Thomas  lord  Roos  of 
Hamlake  or  Helmsley  (1431-64)  his  pea- 
cock crest  is  flanked  by  two  large  flowering 
plants,  perhaps  hemlocks  (pi.  xxm  e). 

By  the  third  quarter  of  the  fourteenth 


200 


PLATE  XXII. — Quasi-supporters. 


century  the  combination  of  supporters  with  Supporters 
shields  of  arms  surmounted  by  crested 


Fig.  i 17.  Seal  of  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of 
March  and  Ulster,  1400,  with  rampant 
leopard  supporters. 


Fig.  1 18.  Seal  of  Sir  William  Windsor,  1381, 
with  eagle  suppoiters. 


201 


Supporters  helms  had  become  fully  established,  and 
henceforth  the  number  of  beautiful  and 
instructive  examples  is  so  great  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  do  more  than  illustrate  a 
typical  series  (figs.  117-121).  It  will  be 


Fig.  1 19.  Seal  of  William  de  la  Pole  duke 
of  Suffolk,  1448. 


seen  from  these  that  in  seals  the  majority 
of  the  supporters  are  upholding  the  heavy 
helm  and  its  crest,  and  not  the  shield  that 
hangs  below  it ; probably  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  the  design.  The  supporters,  too, 
usually  form  pairs,  and  it  goes  without  say- 
ing that  every  variety  of  creature  is  made  to 
serve.  Sometimes  they  are  composed  of 
badges,  like  the  falcons  on  crooked  billets 
202 


PLATE  XXIII.— Shields  accompanied  by  badges. 


PLATE  XXIV. — Shields  accompanied  by  badges. 


used  by  William  lord  Zouch  (pi.  XXIV  a),  Supporters 
or  the  similar  birds  with  ‘words’  coupled 
with  oak  leaves  and  the  letter  t that  appear 


Fig.  120.  Seal  of  John  Nevill  lord  Montagu, 
1461. 

on  a seal  of  Sir  John  Falstaff  used  in  1456 
(pi.  xxiv  b).  William  lord  Botraux,  in  a 
seal  used  in  1426,  has  his  armorial  ensigns 
flanked  by  two  buttresses  (Fr.  botreaux) ; 
while  John  lord  Talbot  and  Furnival  (1406) 
has  two  talbots  (fig.  122),  and  George  duke 

203 


( 


Supporters  of  Clarence  (1463)  the  black  bulls  of  Clare 
(fig.  123). 

Where  the  supporters  differ  it  is  usually 


Fig.  121.  Seal  of  William  lord  Hastings, 
c.  1461. 


the  case  that  they  represent  more  than  one 
dignity.  Thus  on  one  of  his  seals  (fig.  124) 
Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick  (1401) 
used  as  such  for  supporters  two  muzzled 
bears  hugging  ragged  staves,  but  on  a later 
204 


seal  (1421)  as  earl  of  Warwick  and  of  Albe-  Supporters 
marie  the  supporters  are  a bear  and  a griffin 
(fig.  125).  So  too  his  successor  in  the  title 
of  earl  of  Warwick,  Richard  Nevill,  on  a fine 


Fig.  122.  Seal  of  John  lord  Talbot  and 
Furnival,  1406. 


seal  c.  145 1-2  has  two  muzzled  bears  for 
supporters,  but  on  a later  seal  c.  1460  as  earl 
of  Warwick  and  Salisbury  his  supporters 
are  a Warwick  bear  and  a Montagu  griffin 
(fig.  69).  Edmund  Beaufort  duke  of 
Somerset  on  his  seal  for  the  town  of  Bayeux 
c.  1445  (fig*  126)  has  on  one  side  his  own 
eagle  supporter,  and  on  the  other  a spotted 
dog-like  beast  with  a crown  about  his  eck  ; 

205 


Supporters  and  Richard  duke  of  York  and  earl  of 
March  on  his  seal  as  governor  of  France  and 
Normandy  in  1436  has  for  supporters  the 
York  falcon  and  the  white  lion  of  March. 
On  the  stall-plate  of  John  Beaufort  duke  of 
Somerset  and  earl  of  Kendal  his  arms  are 
supported  by  a Somerset  crowned  eagle  and 
a mysterious  beast  called  a yale,*  behind 
each  of  which  stands  an  ostrich  feather  with 
the  quill  gobony  of  blue  and  silver. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  cite  the  various 
supporters  borne  by  the  Kings  of  England, 
but  it  may  suffice  to  point  out  that  since 
the  union  of  the  crowns  of  England  and 
Scotland  one  of  the  royal  supporters  has 
always  been  a lion  for  England  and  the 
other  a unicorn  for  Scotland. 

In  seals  of  married  ladies  in  which  their 
arms  are  accompanied  by  supporters,  one 
often  represents  the  husband  and  the  other 
the  lady’s  family. 

Thus  Joan  Holand,  daughter  of  Thomas 
earl  of  Kent,  and  wife  of  Edmund  of  Lang- 
ley duke  of  York,  has  (after  1393)  her 

* For  a full  account  of  the  yale  or  eale  see  papers 
in  The  Archeological  Journal , lxviii,  173  199.  The 
adoption  of  the  beast  by  the  duke  of  Somerset  has 
not  yet  been  explained,  but  it  may  be  for  his  earl- 
dom of  Kendal  and  partly  be  a rebus  (Kend-eale). 

206 


Fig.  123.  Seal  of  George  duke  of  Clarence  and  lord  of 
Richmond,  1462,  with  black  bulls  of  Clare  supporting 
his  crested  helm. 


Supporters  husband’s  half  of  her  impaled  shield 
supported  by  the  falcon  of  York,  and  her 
own  half  by  her  father’s  hind  with  its 
crown  collar.  Cecily  Nevill,  the  wife  of 


Fig.  124.  Seal  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl 
of  Warwick,  1401. 


Richard  duke  of  York  and  earl  of  March, 
and  mother  of  King  Edward  IV,  has  the 
shield  on  her  fine  seal  ensigned  by  a falcon 
of  York  and  supported  by  a stag  with  crown 
collar  and  chain  and  by  a lion  of  March 
(fig.  127).  The  even  more  splendid  seal  of 
Elizabeth  Wydville,  queen  consort  of  King 
Edward  IV,  shows  as  her  supporters  the 
208 


PLATE  XXV. — Arms  with  crown  and  supporters  of  Elizabeth 
Wydville,  queen  of  Edward  IV. 


PLATE  XXVI. — Arms,  supporters,  and  badges  of  the 
Lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  1455. 


lion  of  March  and  a lean  spotted  beast  not  Supporters 
unlike  an  otter,  collared  and  chained  (pi. 
xxv).  The  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  on  the 


other  hand,  ensigns  on  both  her  seals  her 
paternal  arms  of  Beaufort  with  the  Somer- 
set eagle  and  uses  for  her  supporters  a pair 
of  yales  (pis.  xxvi,  xxx). 

It  is  of  course  all  important  that  sup- 

209 


Fig.  125.  Seal  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl 
of  Warwick  and  of  Albemarle  and  lord 
Despenser,  1421. 


O 


Supporters  porters  should  be  shown  standing  upon 
something  solid,  and  not  on  so  precarious 
a footing  as  the  edge  of  a motto  or  forked 


Fig.  126.  Seal  of  Edmund  duke  of  Somerset 
for  the  town  of  Bayeux,  c.  1445. 

scroll.  One  of  the  beautiful  armorial 
groups  with  the  supporters  of  King  Henry 
VII  in  King’s  college  chapel  at  Cambridge 
(fig.  128)  shows  how  effectively  and  yet 
unobtrusively  this  may  be  done.  In  the 
splendid  panel  at  New  Hall  in  Essex  with 
210 


the  crowned  arms,  etc.  of  King  Henry  Supporters 
VIII  his  dragon  and  greyhound  supporters 
stand  in  a bush  of  roses  and  pomegranates 
(fig.  189);  and  in  the  well-known  glass  at 
Ockwells  the  supporters  have  fields  full 
of  flowers  to  stand  on. 

Besides  the  more  or  less  regular  use  of 
supporters  just  described,  there  are  a 
number  of  curious  and  irregular  ways  of 
supporting  shields.  These  deserve  special 
attention,  not  only  from  their  value  in 
showing  how  delightfully  heraldry  used  to 
be  played  with,  but  as  precedents  for  similar 
variety  of  treatment  at  the  present  day, 
when  supporters  so  called  often  do  not 
support  anything.  Over  the  doorway,  for 
example,  of  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 
in  London  the  ‘supporters’  of  the  royal 
arms  are  merely  a pair  of  cowering  beasts 
at  the  base  of  the  shield. 

Quite  an  early  instance  of  playful  treat- 
ment is  furnished  by  the  seal  of  Roger 
Leybourne  ( ob . 1284).  This  has  a small 
banner  standing  behind  the  shield,  which 
is  hung  on  a tree  with  side  branches ; one 
of  these  supports  the  crested  helm,  and  the 
other  ends  in  a bunch  of  leaves  (pi.  xi  a). 

Thomas  lord  Holand  and  Wake  ( c . 

1 3 53)  has  within  a traceried  panel  a tree 


21 1 


Fig.  127.  Seal  of  Cecily  Nevill,  wife  of  Richard  duke 
of  York  and  mother  of  King  Edward  IV,  1461. 


standing  in  a rabbit  warren  and  supporting  Supporters 
his  crowned  helm  with  its  huge  bush  of 
feathers.  Hanging  on  either  side  are  two 


Fig.  128.  Arms  and  supporters,  a dragon  and 
a greyhound,  of  King  Henry  VII  in  King’s 
college  chapel  at  Cambridge. 

shields,  one  with  beautiful  diapering  of  his 
lordship  of  Wake,  the  other  (originally)  of 
his  lordship  of  Holand  (pi.  xxvn  a). 

Thomas  of  Woodstock  duke  of 

213 


— li 1 Ll. 


Supporters  Gloucester,  son  of  Edward  III,  used  from 
about  1385  a lovely  seal  with  the  stock  of 
a tree  standing  within  a paling  and  sur- 
rounded by  water  on  which  float  two 
chained  Bohun  swans,  for  his  wife  Eleanor 
Bohun ; from  the  tree  hangs  a large 
shield  of  the  duke’s  arms,  with  his  crested 
helm  above,  and  from  two  side  branches 
are  suspended  diapered  shields  of  the  earl- 
dom of  Hereford  ( azure  two  bends , one  gold , 
the  other  silver ) also  in  reference  to  his 
Bohun  marriage. 

Margaret  daughter  of  Richard  Beau- 
champ earl  of  Warwick  and  wife  of  John 
Talbot  earl  of  Shrewsbury  and  Waterford, 
in  her  fine  shield  (after  1433)  suspends  by 
their  straps  her  father’s  shield  and  the 
impaled  shield  of  her  husband  and  herself 
from  the  ragged  staff*  of  her  father’s  house 
(pi.  xxvii  b). 

Thomas  Holand  earl  of  Kent  used  in 
1398  a seal  bearing  his  badge  of  a white 
hind  with  a crown  for  a collar,  reclining 
under  a tree,  and  with  the  shield  of  his 
arms  hanging  round  its  neck  (pi.  xvm  b). 

In  the  fourteenth  century  seal  of  the 
mayoralty  of  Calais  a boar  has  a cloak  tied 
about  his  neck  and  flying  upwards  banner- 
wise  to  display  the  arms  of  the  town,  which 
214 


Margaret  Beauchamp,  wife  of  John  Talbot 
earl  of  Shrewsbury,  after  1433. 


Thomas  lord  Holand  and  Wake,  c.  1350. 


PLATE  XXVII. — Methods  of  arranging  shields. 


were  harry  wavy  with  a crowned  (?)  leopard  Supporters 
rampant  (fig.  129).  A similar  treatment 
occurs  on  the  half-florin  of  King  Edward 
III,  which  has  for  device  a crowned  sitting 
leopard  with  a cloak  about  his  neck  with 
the  royal  arms. 

On  one  of  his  seals  as  regent  of  France 


Fig.  129.  Seal  of  the  mayoralty  of  Calais. 


(1422-35)  John  duke  of  Bedford  has  an 
eagle  standing  with  one  leg  upon  his  badge, 
the  root  of  a tree,  and  holding  in  its  other 
claw  a shield  of  his  arms. 

William  lord  Fitz  Hugh  (1429)  and  of 
Marmion  shows  on  his  seal  his  quartered 
shield  ensigned  by  his  helm  and  crest, 

215 


Supporters  which  was  apparently  a lion’s  head.  The 
rest  of  the  beast  is  somewhat  incongruously 
squatting  behind  the  shield  and  has  the 
paws  thrust  out  on  each  side  to  grasp  two 
banners  of  arms  that  complete  the  com- 
position (pi.  xxviii  a). 

A similar  pair  of  banners  appears  on  the 


Fig.  130.  Seal  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford 
with  banners  of  Heytesbury  and  Hussey 
or  Hornet,  c.  1420. 

seal  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford,  which 
has  the  shield  ‘supported’  by  two 
Hungerford  sickles,  and  surmounted  by 
the  crested  helm,  with  flanking  banners  of 
the  arms  of  the  lordships  of  Heytesbury 
and  Hussey  (fig.  130). 

216 


PLATE  XXVIII. — Examples  of  banners  of  arms. 


. 


■ 


Banners  also  figure  prominently  on  the  Supporters 
charming  seal  of  Margaret  lady  of  Hunger- 
ford  and  Botreaux  (1462)  (pi.  xxvm  b). 

She  was  the  daughter  of  William  lord 
Botreaux  and  Margaret  Beaumont,  and 
wife  of  Sir  Robert  Hungerford,  who  died 
in  1459.  The  seal  shows  the  lady  in 
her  widow’s  dress  sitting  upon  her  knees 
in  a garden,  and  reading  from  a book  some 
words  which  are  inscribed  on  a scroll  about 
her  head.  Overshadowing  her  are  two 
large  banners  of  impaled  arms : one  of 

Hungerford  and  Botreaux,  upheld  by  a 
lion  ; the  other  of  Botreaux  and  Beaumont, 
upheld  by  a griffin. 

On  many  late  thirteenth  and  early 
fourteenth  century  seals  it  was  not  un- 
common to  represent  ladies  holding  up 
shields  of  arms.  A delightful  example 
that  may  be  cited  is  that  of  Emmeline 
FitzGerald,  and  wife  of  Stephen  Longespee, 
who  is  upholding  her  father’s  shield  in  her 
right  and  her  husband’s  in  her  left  hand. 

Below  each  shield  is  a leopard  of  England 
to  show  her  husband’s  close  relationship  to 
the  royal  house,  and  on  each  side  of  her  is  a 
long  sword.  She  died  in  1331  (pi.  xxix  b). 

A few  cases  occur  where  a man  himself 
acts  as  the  supporter  of  his  arms.  One 

21 7 


Supporters  of  the  shields  of  Henry  Percy  earl  of 
Northumberland  (1377)  shews  him  in 
armour,  standing  behind  a large  shield  of 
Percy  which  he  supports  with  his  left 
hand.  His  right  is  upon  the  hilt  of  a 
sword  with  the  belt  wrapped  about  it,  and 
against  his  left  shoulder  rests  a banner  with 
the  Percy  lion.  The  earl  appears  in  similar 
fashion  in  another  of  his  seals  as  lord  of 
Cockermouth  (1393).  In  this  the  shield  is 
quarterly  of  Percy  and  Lucy,  and  is  grasped 
as  before  by  his  left  hand,  while  the  right 
holds  up  a pennon  charged  with  his  badge 
of  a crescent  (pi.  xxix  a). 

It  must  suffice  to  quote  one  last  piece  of 
playfulness,  a seal  of  Richard  duke  of 
York  and  earl  of  March  and  Ulster  ( ob . 
1460)  as  justice-in-eyre  of  the  forests. 
Th  is  has  his  shield  of  arms  suspended 
about  the  neck  of  a York  falcon,  and 
enclosed  by  the  horns  of  a buck’s  head  in 
base,  in  reference  to  his  office.  Upon  the 
buck’s  horns  are  fixed  two  small  hands  for 
the  duke’s  earldom  of  Ulster  (pi.  xxix  c). 


218 


I 


PLATE  XXIX  — Ways  of  upholding  shields. 


CHAPTER  IX 
BANNERS  OF  ARMS 


The  Royal  Banner  of  Arms;  The  Banner  of 
the  Arms  of  the  City  of  London ; Shapes  of 
Banners;  Sizes  of  certain  Banners;  Upright 
versus  Long  Banners ; Advantages  of  the 
Upright  Form;  Banners  with  Achievements  of 
Arms  ; Modern  Use  of  Banners 

Representations  of  banners  constantly 
occur  in  medieval  pictures  (fig.  1 3 1 ) ; and 
as  has  been  shown  above,  they  are  not 
infrequent  upon  seals. 

Everyone  is  familiar  with  the  banner  of  the 
royal  arms  that  betokens  the  presence  of  the 
King,  and  with  our  splendid  national  banner 
known  as  the  Union  Jack.  The  banner  with 
the  arms  of  the  city  that  is  flown  above  the 
Mansion  House  when  the  lord  mayor  is  in 
residence  is  familiar  to  Londoners,  and  the 
citizens  of  Rochester  are  equally  accustomed 
to  see  the  banner  of  their  city  flying  on 
Sundays  and  holidays  from  the  great  tower 
of  their  castle.  Let  a banner  once  be  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  a rectangular  shield 

219 


Banners  of 
Arms 


and  its  fitness  to  contain  armorial  bearings 
immediately  becomes  apparent.  The  King’s 
banner  is  now  always  miscalled  ‘the  royal 


Fig.  13  i.  Knights  with  banners,  from  an  illumination 
in  Royal  MS.  19  B xv  in  the  British  Museum. 


standard,’  even  in  official  language,  though 
heraldically  it  is  not  a standard  at  all  but 
simply  a banner. 

220 


Medieval  banners  at  first  were  oblong  Banners  of 
in  shape,  and  set  upright  with  a longer  side  Arms 
next  the  staff.  In  the  late  thirteenth 
century  pictures  formerly  in  the  painted 


Fig.  132.  Seal  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford 
with  banners. 

chamber  in  the  palace  of  Westminster 
the  banners  borne  by  the  knights  were 
more  than  twice  as  tall  as  they  were  broad. 
The  same  proportion  survives  even  in 
the  famous  pictorial  pageant  of  Richard 
Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick,  drawn  about 
1493  ;*  but  the  majority  of  the  banners 
therein  shown  have  a height  one  and 

* Brit.  Mus.  Cott.  MS.  Julius  E.,  IV. 

221 


Banners  of 
Arms 


three  quarter  times  the  width,  which  is 
better  for  the  display  of  heraldry.  This  is 
also  the  proportion  of  the  banners  on 
William  lord  Hungerford’s  seal  (fig.  132), 
but  the  banners  with  impaled  arms  on  lady 


Fig.  133.  Part  of  the  seal  of  Margaret  lady 
Hungerford,  with  impaled  banner  held  up 
by  a lion. 

Hungerford’s  seal  are  nearly  square  (fig. 
133).  On  the  monument  in  Westminster 
abbey  church  of  Lewis  lord  Bourchier  ( ob . 
1431)  the  large  quartered  banners  at  the 
ends,  upheld  by  lions  and  eagles,  are  slightly 
less  than  a square  and  a half  in  arep,  and 
admirably  proportioned  for  displaying  arms 
(fig.  134).  The  banner  of  King  Edward  IV 


Fig.  134.  Tomb  of  Lewis  Robsart  lord  Bourchier,  K.G., 
ob.  1431,  in  Westminster  abbey  church,  with  banners 
of  arms  upheld  by  supporters. 


Banners  of 
Arms 


‘which  also  hung  over  his  grave’  in  St. 
George’s  chapel  in  Windsor  castle  is 
described  as  of  ‘Taffaty,  and  thereon 
painted  quarterly  France  and  England  ; it 
had  in  breadth  three  foot  four  inches,  be- 
sides a Fringe  of  about  an  inch  broad,  and 
in  depth  five  foot  and  four  inches,  besides 
the  Fringe.’  * Ashmole,  in  his  description 
of  the  banners  hung  above  the  stalls  of 
the  Knights  of  the  Garter,  states  (in  1672) 
that  ‘the  fashion  of  the  Soveraign’s  and 
all  the  Knight-Companions  Banners  are 
square;  but  it  doth  no  where  appear  to  us, 
of  what  size  their  Banners  anciently  were ; 
yet  in  Queen  Elizabeth’s  Reign,  we  find 
them  two  yards  and  a quarter  long,  and  a 
yard  and  three  quarters  broad,  beside  the 
Fringe  (which  is  made  of  Gold  or  Silver 
and  Silk,  of  the  colours  in  the  Wreath)  and 
thereon  are  wrought  or  beaten  upon 
TafFaty-Sarcenet,  double-Sarcenet,  or  rich 
Taffaty,  with  fine  Gold  and  Colours,  on 
both  sides,  the  paternal  Coat  of  the  Knights 
Companion,  together  with  his  Quarterings, 
or  so  many  of  them  as  he  please  to  make 
use  of,  wherein  Garter  is  to  take  care  that 

* Elias  Ashmole,  The  Institution , Laws  and  Cere- 
monies of  the  most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter  (London, 
1672),  149. 

224 


they  be  warrantly  marshalled.  . . . These  Banners  of 
banners  of  Arms  are  fixed  to  the  end  of  Arms 
long  Staves,  painted  in  Oyl,  formerly  with 
the  Colours  of  the  Wreath,  but  now 
Red.’  * 

The  remark  here  as  to  the  quarterings, 
in  view  of  the  comments  upon  them  in  an 
earlier  page  of  this  book,  is  interesting,  but 
it  is  more  important  to  note  that  both  the 
banner  of  King  Edward  IV,  and  those  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Garter  in  Queen  Elizabeth’s 
time,  were  of  similar  proportions  to  those 
on  the  Bourchier  monument. 

The  fact  is  that  the  heraldic  draughts- 
men of  even  this  late  period  were  fully 
as  aware  as  their  predecessors  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  drawing  arms  in  a banner  that  ex- 
ceeded the  width  of  a square,  and  they 
also  appreciated  the  greater  advantage 
of  an  area  that  was  narrower  than  that 
figure. 

The  longer  form  of  banner  may  be 
tolerated  for  so  simple  a combination  as 
the  Union  Jack,  or  even  for  such  of  its 
component  parts  as  the  cross  of  St.  Andrew 
or  the  saltire  of  St.  Patrick,  but  it  is  rarely 
possible  so  to  arrange  heraldry  upon  it  as 

* Ibid.  335,  336. 


P 


225 


Banners  of  to  look  well,  and  even  the  cross  of  St. 
Arms  George  looks  better  upright  thus 


when 


extended  unduly  horizontally. 

In  the  King’s  banner  as  at  present  borne 
it  is  practically  impossible  to  draw  the  arms 
artistically,  or  with  a proper  balancing 
relation  of  field  and  charge  (fig.  135).  The 
leopards  of  England  may  be  so  outrageously 
lengthened  and  attenuated  as  nearly  to  fill 
the  quarters  allotted  to  them,  but  it  is  im- 
practicable to  display  properly  the  upright 
form  of  the  ramping  lion  of  Scotland  or  to 
expand  horizontally  the  Irish  harp.  In 
the  banner,  too,  of  the  lord  mayor  of 
London  as  used  on  the  Mansion  House 
to-day,  the  sword  of  St.  Paul  in  the  quarter 
can  only  be  drawn  of  the  comparative  size 
of  Sir  William  Walworth’s  dagger,  which 
it  is  in  consequence  so  absurdly  mistaken 
to  be. 

226 


Fig.  135.  The  King’s  banner,  or  ‘royal  standard,’  as  now  borne. 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Were,  however,  the  King’s  arms  (see 
frontispiece)  and  those  of  his  city  of 
London  placed  on  upright  oblong  or  even 
square  banners,  all  difficulties  of  drawing 
them  would  be  avoided,  and  from  appearing 
to  be  glaring  examples  of  mean  modern 
heraldry  they  would  forthwith  become  fine 
pieces  of  artistic  decoration. 

A close  approximation  to  the  better  way 
of  displaying  the  King’s  arms  is  illustrated 
by  the  lately  adopted  banners  of  Queen 
Mary  and  Queen  Alexandra,  both  of  which 
show  the  Sovereign’s  arms  impaling  those 
of  his  consort.  The  King’s  arms  are  thus 
restricted  to  half  the  usual  length  of  the 
present  ‘royal  standard,’  that  is,  to  a square, 
and  so  can  be  drawn  with  less  waste  space 
on  either  side  of  the  charges. 

Whatever  be  their  shape,  banners,  like 
shields,  ought  as  a rule  to  be  covered  com- 
pletely with  the  heraldry,  like  the  banners 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  at  Windsor 
(which,  though  modern,  are  quite  good  in 
this  respect)  and  those  of  more  recent 
institution  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael  and 
St.  George  in  St.  Paul’s  cathedral  church. 

Examples  are  not  lacking,  even  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  of  banners  charged  with 
regular  heraldic  achievements  instead  of 
228 


arms,  and  quite  an  interesting  series  maybe  Banners  of 
found  amongthe  Windsor  stall-plates.  Two  ^rms 
small  oblong  plates  of  Sir  Peter  Courtenay 
and  Henry  lord  FitzHugh  are  practically 
complete  banners  of  their  arms,  but  Walter 
lord  Hungerford  (after  1426)  displays  his 
arms,  with  helm,  crest,  and  mantling,  upon 
a dull  black  banner  with  fringed  gold 
border  attached  to  a writhen  gilded  staff 
(fig.  136).  Richard  Nevill  earl  of  Salisbury 
(c.  1436)  (fig.  137),  John  earl  of  Shrewsbury 
(c.  1453),  John  lord  Tiptoft  ( c . 1461), 
and  several  others  have  their  arms,  etc. 
on  plain  gold-coloured  fringed  banners, 
but  Richard  lord  Rivers  ( c . 1450),  Thomas 
lord  Stanley  (c.  1459),  and  George  duke 
of  Clarence  (c.  1461),  have  the  field  worked 
all  over  with  decorative  scroll  work.  Sir 
John  Grey  of  Ruthin  (c.  1439)  also  displays 
his  arms  on  an  undoubted  banner  with  black 
ground  and  gold  fringe  and  staff  (fig.  138), 
and  William  lord  Fauconberg  (c.  1440) 
on  a banner  with  the  field  bendy  of  blue 
and  silver,  with  a gold  fringe  and  staff.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  several  other  quad- 
rangular stall-plates  with  coloured  grounds 
represent  banners.  Edmund  of  Langley 
duke  of  York  has  the  field  paly  of  three 
pieces  of  silver,  green,  and  black  ; John  duke 

229 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Fig.  136.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Walter 
lord  Hungerford,  after  1426. 

of  Bedford  (1422-3)  has  a ground  party 
blue  and  silver,  and  Thomas  duke  of 
Exeter  ( c . 1422)  a ground  all  black. 

230 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Fig.  137.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Richard 
Nevill  earl  of  Salisbury,  c.  1436. 


John  duke  of  Somerset  ( c . 1440)  has 
the  field  of  his  plate  bendy  of  silver,  red, 

231 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Fig.  138.  Stall-plate,  as  a banner,  of  Sir 
John  Grey  of  Ruthin,  c.  1439. 

and  green,  with  a gilded  border  of  scrolled 
leaves  ; and  Walter  lord  Mountjoy  ( c . 14 72) 
232 


disposes  the  same  three  colours  in  vertical  Banners  of 
stripes.  Arms 

Two  similar  displays  of  heraldic  achieve- 
ments are  to  be  found  in  a manuscript  at 
the  Heralds’  College.*  In  one  of  these 
the  arms,  etc.  of  Sir  Richard  Nanfant 
( ob . 1506-7)  are  painted  upon  a quad- 
rangular field  party  of  blue  and  green.  In 
the  other  the  impaled  shield  of  Sir  Richard 
and  his  dame,  upheld  by  an  angel,  is  painted 
upon  a ground  having  the  upper  three- 
fourths  red  and  the  fourth  part  pale  pink.f 
In  modern  practice  there  is  no  conceiv- 
able reason  why  banners  for  the  display  of 
arms  should  not  be  more  widely  adopted  ; 
not  only  as  banners  proper,  to  fly  upon  a 
staff,  but  in  decorative  art,  such  as  painting, 
sculpture,  and  embroidery.  Both  the  Royal 
Society  and  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  reg- 
ularly notify  their  existence  in  Burlington 
House  by  displaying  banners  of  their  arms 
over  their  apartments,  and  their  example  is 
one  that  might  be  followed  by  other  cor- 
porations entitled  to  bear  arms.  On  the 
use  of  banners  by  individuals  it  is  un- 
necessary to  enter  after  the  useful  series 

* MS.  M3. 

t Illustrated  Catalogue  of  the  Heraldic  Exhibition , 

Burlington  House , 1894  (London,  1896),  pi.  xxviii. 

233 


Banners  of 
Arms 


of  examples  and  usages  thereof  already 
noted. 

The  curious  flags  known  as  standards, 
which  were  in  use  during  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  seem  to  have  been 
borne  simple  for  display  in  pageants  or  at 
funerals.  For  decorative  purposes  they  are 


Fig.  139.  Standard  of  Sir  Henry  Stafford,  K.G., 


c.  1475. 

most  effective,  and  as  they  were  anciently 
borne  by  men  of  every  degree  down  to  and 
including  esquires,  they  might  with  much 
advantage  from  the  artistic  standpoint 
again  be  devised  and  brought  into  use. 

A standard  (fig.  139)  was  a long  narrow 
flag  with  the  lower  edge  horizontal,  and  the 
upper  gradually  descending  from  the  staff 
to  the  extremity,  which  was  split  into  two 
rounded  ends.  A compartment  next  the 
staff  always  contained  the  arms  of  St. 

234 


George.  The  rest  of  the  ground  not  infre- 
quently was  formed  of  two,  three,  or  four 
horizontal  stripes  of  the  livery  colours  of  the 
owner,  and  divided  into  three  sections  by 
two  slanting  bands  with  his  word,  reason,  or 
motto.  Upon  the  section  next  to  the  St. 
George’s  cross  was  generally  displayed  the 
principal  beast  or  other  device  of  the  bearer 
and  in  later  times  the  crest  on  a torse,  while 
the  other  sections  and  the  field  in  general 
were  powdered  with  badges  or  rebuses. 
The  whole  was  fringed  of  the  livery 
colours. 

The  series  illustrated  in  the  volume  in 
the  De  Walden  Library  on  “Banners 
Standards  and  Badges  from  a Tudor  Manu- 
script in  the  College  of  Arms”  will  supply 
ample  evidence  of  the  playful  composi- 
tion of  ancient  standards,  and  hints  as  to 
the  way  in  which  they  may  be  invented 
nowadays. 

Pennons  were  small  and  narrow  flags  of 
varying  length,  sometimes  pointed,  some- 
times swallow-tailed  at  the  end,  fixed  below 
the  point  of  a lance  or  spear  and  carried  by 
the  owner  as  his  personal  ensign  (fig.  140). 
That  held  by  Sir  John  d’Abernoun  in  his 
well-known  brass  (c.  1277)  at  Stoke  d’Aber- 
noun is  short  and  pointed  and  fringed,  and 

235 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Banners  of 
Arms 


bears  his  arms  ( azure  a cheveron  gold).  A 
contemporary  illustration  of  a large  and 
more  fluttering  form  of  pennon  is  to  be 


Fig.  140.  Knights  with  pennons,  from  an  illumination 
in  Royal  MS.  19  B xv  in  the  British  Museum. 


seen  in  fig.  141.  An  example  of  a pennon 
charged  with  a badge,  in  the  shape  of  the 
Percy  crescent,  occurs  on  the  seal  of  Henry 
236 


Fig.  141.  Armed  Knights  carrying  pennons,  temp. 
Edward  I.  From  an  illumination  in  Arundel  MS. 
83.  f.  132. 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Percy  earl  of  Northumberland,  who  is 
shown  with  it  in  his  hand  (pi.  xxix  a). 

In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries 
it  was  not  unusual  to  set  up  on  gables, 
pinnacles,  and  other  high  places,  figures  of 
animals  holding  banners  as  vanes  or  orna- 
ments. Heraldic  beasts  as  finials  began  to 
be  used  even  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  an  example  so  early  as  1237  is  noted 
on  the  Pipe  Roll  of  22  Henry  III,  when  a 
charge  occurs  ‘for  making  and  setting  up 
a certain  lion  of  stone  upon  the  gable  of 
the  King’s  hall’*  within  the  castle  of 
Windsor.  Examples  of  the  fourteenth 
century  are  hard  to  find,  but  in  the 
fifteenth  century  and  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  they  are  common  enough.  In 
most  of  these  later  examples  the  creatures 
sit  up  and  support  shields  with  arms  or 
badges;  some,  like  the  fine  groups  at 
Mapperton  in  Dorset,  once  held  vanes 
as  well. 

Early  vanes  from  their  tendency  to 
decay  are  rare.  In  1352-3  14s.  were 

spent  ‘upon  a vane  of  copper  painted 
with  the  king’s  arms,  bought  to  be  put 
upon  the  top  of  the  hall  of  the  king’s 

*‘Et  in  quodam  leone  de  petra  faciendo  et 
erigendo  super  gabulum  in  eadem  aula.’ 

238 


college’  * in  Windsor  castle  ; and  a delight- 
ful example,  also  of  copper,  pierced  with  the 
arms  of  Sir  William  Etchingham,  its  builder 
(ob.  1389),  still  surmounts  the  steeple  of 
Etchingham  church  in  Sussex  (fig.  142). 
A simple  specimen  of  an  iron  vane  may  yet 
be  seen  on  Cowdray  House  in  the  same 
county.  The  octagonal  steeple  of  Fother- 
ingay  church,  Northants,  built  at  the  cost 
of  Richard  duke  of  York  c.  1435,  is  sur- 
mounted by  a fine  representation  in  copper 
of  his  badge,  the  falcon  within  a fetterlock. 

The  employment  of  a creature  to  hold 
up  a banner  of  arms  was  already  no  novelty 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  examples  have 
been  noted  above  of  those  on  the  tomb  of 
Lewis  lord  Bourchier  (ob.  1431)  and  on  the 
seal  of  Margaret  lady  Hungerford  (c.  1460) ; 
to  which  may  be  added  the  banner  bear- 
ing lion  on  the  seal  (c.  1442)  of  Henry 
Percy,  eldest  son  of  Henry  second  earl 
of  Northumberland.  The  conversion 
therefore  of  the  sitting  beast  into  a vane 
holder  came  about  quite  naturally.  A 
good  instance  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century  forms  a charming  finial  to  the  well- 

* “Et  in  una  vane  de  cupro  picta  de  armis  Regis 
empta  ad  ponendum  super  summitatem  aule  Collegij 
Regis  ibidem,  xiiij  s.”  Pipe  Roll,  28  Edward  III. 

239 


Banners  of 
Arms 


known  kitchen  at  Stanton  Harcourt  in  Banners  of 
Oxfordshire,  but  the  griffin  which  sits  aloft  Arms 
there  has,  alas,  no  longer  a vane  to  hold 
(fig-  143)- 

Quite  an  array  of  such  vane  holders  was 
set  up  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  upon 


Fig.  143.  Vane  formerly  upon  the  finial  of  the 
kitchen  roof  at  Stanton  Harcourt,  Oxon. 

the  pinnacles  of  the  nave  clerestory  of  St. 
George’s  chapel  in  Windsor  castle,  and 
the  contract  made  in  1506  for  completing 
the  quire  in  like  fashion  provides  for  ‘as 
well  the  vautte  within  furth  as  archebotens, 
crestys,  corses,  and  the  King’s  bestes 
stondyng  on  theym  to  bere  the  fanes  on 
the  outside  of  the  said  quere,  and  the 

Q 241 


Banners  of 
Arms 


creasts,  corses  (and)  beasts  above  on  the 
outsides  of  Maister  John  Shornes  Chappell/ 
The  contract  made  in  1511  for  finishing 
the  adjacent  Lady  Chapel  also  includes 
‘making  up  crests  corses  and  the  Kings 
bestes  stondyng  on  theym  to  bere  furth 
squychons  with  armes/  These  beasts 
holding  their  glittering  vanes  seem  to  have 
been  completed  only  so  far  as  the  great 
chapel  was  concerned,  and  are  plainly 
shown  in  Hollar’s  engraving  of  the  build- 
ing; but  they  were  all  taken  down  in  1682 
by  the  advice  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
who  suggested  that  pineapples  be  set  up  in 
their  stead  ! 

Another  mention  of  figures  with  vanes 
occurs  in  the  contract  made  in  1546  for 
the  building  of  the  Coventry  cross  : 

And  further  to  set  on  every  principall 
pinnacle  in  the  lowest  story  of  the  same 
new  Crosse,  the  Ymage  of  a Beast  or  a 
foule,  holding  up  a fane,  and  on  everie 
principall  pinnacle  in  the  second  story 
the  image  of  a naked  boy  with  a Targett, 
and  holding  a Fane.* 

These  beasts,  fowls,  and  boys  obviously 
* T.  Hearne,  Liber  Niger , ii,  620. 


242 


performed  a double  duty,  like  the  creatures 
on  Mapperton  manor  house. 

The  exact  nature  of  the  ‘King’s  bestes’ 
at  Windsor  and  elsewhere  is  illustrated  by 
the  accounts  for  the  building  of  the  great 
hall  of  Hampton  Court  in  1533-4.  These 
include  payments  ‘for  the  workyng  and 
makyng  of  a lyon  and  a dragon  in  stone, 
standyng  at  the  Gabull  ends  of  the  said 
hall’;  ‘for  two  pynnys  of  irne  for  stayes 
for  the  two  bests  of  freston,  standyng 
at  the  gabyll  endes  of  the  haull’;  and 
‘for  gylding  and  payntyng  of  two  vanys, 
servyng  the  bests  of  freston  stondyng  at 
the  endes  uppon  the  haull,  oon  of  the 
Kynges  armys,  the  other  of  the  Quenys, 
wrowghte  wyth  fyne  golde  and  in  owyle.’ 
Further  payments  are  ‘for  makyng  of  29 
of  the  Kynges  bestes  to  stand  upon  the 
new  batilments  of  the  Kynges  New  Hall, 
and  uppon  the  femerell  of  the  said  Hall’ 
and  ‘for  16  vanys  for  the  bestes  standyng 
upon  the  battylment  of  the  hall.’  Also  ‘for 
the  payntyng  of  6 great  lyons,  standyng 
abowght  the  bartyllment,  of  tymber  worke, 
uppon  the  Kynges  New  Hall,  theyre  vaynys 
gylte  with  fyne  golde  and  in  oyle,’  and  for 
the  painting  ‘of  4 great  dragons  & of  6 
grewhounds  servyng  the  samebarttylment.’ 

243 


Banners  of 
Arms 


Banners  of 
Arms 


There  are  also  payments  to  a ‘ Karver 
for  karvyng  and  coutting  of  2 grewhondes, 
oon  lybert,  servyng  to  stande  uppon  the 
typpis  of  the  vycys  abowght  the  Kynges 
new  haull,’  and  to  a ‘paynter,  for  gyldyng 
and  payntyng  of  2 grewhondes,  oon 
lybert,  syttyng  upon  basys  baryng  vanys, 
uppon  the  typys  at  the  haul!  endes’ ; like- 
wise Tor  gyldyng  and  payntyng  of  24 
vanys  with  the  Kynges  armes  and  the 
Quenes  badges.’  * 

The  free  use  of  external  colouring  should 
be  noted. 

The  use  of  the  King’s  beasts  as  heraldic 
adjuncts  was  not  confined  at  Hampton 
Court  to  the  building  only,  but  they  were 
made  to  do  duty,  in  an  equally  delight- 
ful manner,  as  garden  decorations.  Thus 
the  payments  already  quoted  include 
charges 

for  makyng  and  entaylling  of  38  of  the 
Kynges  and  the  quenys  Beestes,  in  free- 
ston,  barying  shyldes  wythe  the  Kynges 
armes  and  the  Quenys;  that  ys  to  say, 
fowre  dragownes,  seyx  lyones,  fyve 
grewhoundes,  fyve  harttes,  foure  Inny- 

* Ernest  Law,  The  History  of  Hampton  Court  Pal- 
ace (London  1903),  i.  346-348. 

244 


cornes,  servyng  to  stand  abowght  the  Banners  of 
ponddes  in  the  pond  yerd  ; Arms 

for  cuttyng  and  intayling  of  a lyon  and 
grey-hound  in  freestoon,  that  is  to  say, 
the  lyon  barying  a vane  with  the  Kynges 
armes,  &c.  servyng  to  stand  uppon  the 
bases  of  freeston  abought  the  ponds ; 
for  pynnes  servyng  the  pyllers  of  free- 
stoon that  the  beastes  standyth  uppon 
abowght  the  ponds  in  the  pond  yerd ; 
for  payntyng  of  30  stoon  bests  standyng 
uppon  bases  abowght  the  pondes  in  the 
pond  yerd,  for  workmanship,  oyle,  and 
coders.  Also 

for  payntyng  off  180  postes  wyth  white  and 
grene  * and  in  oyle  . . . standyng  in  the 
Kynges  new  garden ; 

also  for  lyke  payntyng  of  96  powncheones 
wyth  white  and  grene,  and  in  oyle, 
wrought  wyth  fyne  antyke  uppon  both 
the  sydes  beryng  up  the  rayles  in  the 
sayd  Garden ; 

also  for  lyke  payntyng  of  960  yerdes  in 
leyngthe  of  Rayle.j 

The  quaint  aspect  of  such  an  heraldic 
garden  has  been  preserved  to  us  in  the 

* White  and  green  were  the  livery  colours  of 
King  Henry  VIII. 

f Law,  op.  cit.y  i.  370,  371. 


245 


Fig.  144.  Part  of  King  Henry  VIII’s  garden  at 
Hampton  Court,  from  a contemporary  picture. 


Banners  of 
Arms 


large  picture  at  Hampton  Court  itself  of 
King  Henry  VIII  and  his  family.  This 
has  at  either  end  archways  in  which  stand 
Will  Somers  the  King’s  jester  and  Jane  the 
fool,  and  behind  them  are  delightful  peeps 
of  the  garden,  with  its  low  brick  borders 
carrying  green  and  white  railings,  and  its 
gay  flower  beds  from  which  rise  tall  painted 
posts  surmounted  by  the  King’s  beasts 
holding  up  their  glittering  vanes  (figs.  144, 
H5). 

Before  finally  leaving  the  subject  of 
banners,  a few  remarks  may  be  offered 
touching  our  beautiful  national  banner 
which  we  call  the  Union  Jack. 

This  charming  and  interesting  com- 
position is  not  only,  in  a large  number  of 
cases  when  it  is  flown,  displayed  upside 
down,  but  in  a still  greater  number  of 
instances  it  is  made  quite  incorrectly. 

The  first  Union  Jack,  that  in  use  from 
1606  to  1801,  combining  as  it  did  only 
the  cross  of  St.  George  for  England  and 
the  saltire  of  St.  Andrew  for  Scotland, 
presented  little  difficulty,  since  there  was 
practically  no  excuse  for  not  drawing  the 
St.  Andrew’s  cross  straight  through  from 
corner  to  corner.  But  the  present  Union 
Jack  is  a much  more  difficult  banner  to 
248 


THE  UNION  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  AND  IRISH  CROSSES  IN  THE  UNION 
JACK.  THE  DOTTED  LINES  SHOW  THE  SUPERPOSITION  OF  THE 
CROSS  OF  ST.  GEORGE 


THE  UNION  JACK,  AS  OFTEN  INCORRECTLY  MADE. 

PLATE  XXXI.  RIGHT  AND  WRONG  VERSIONS  OF  THE  UNION  JACK. 


draw,  as  well  as  to  understand,  and  the  Banners  of 
prevailing  ignorance  of  its  history  even  Arms 
among  so-called  ‘educated’  people  is 
extraordinary. 

The  Union  Jack  consists  actually  of  (i) 
the  banner  of  St.  George  with  its  white 
field  reduced  to  a narrow  edging  on  all 
sides  of  the  red  cross,  to  enable  it  to  be 
superposed,  without  breaking  the  heraldic 
rule  of  colour  upon  colour,  upon  (ii)  the 
blue  banner  of  St.  Andrew,  with  his  white 
cross ; but  since  the  Union  with  Ireland 
there  has  been  combined  with  these  (iii) 
the  banner  of  St.  Patrick,  which  has  a red 
saltire  upon  a white  field.  This  combina- 
tion, in  order  to  meet  Scottish  suscepti- 
bilities, has  been  efFected  in  a very  peculiar 
but  ingenious  way,  first,  by  treating  the 
Irish  banner  like  that  of  England,  and 
reducing  its  white  field  to  a narrow  edging 
about  the  saltire,  and  then  by  slitting  this 
down  the  middle  of  each  arm,  and  joining 
the  pieces  to  the  opposite  sides  of  St. 

Andrew’s  saltire  similarly  treated,  yet  so 
that  the  Scottish  pieces  are  uppermost  next 
the  staff.  It  thus  comes  about,  that  what- 
ever be  the  shape  of  the  flag,  whether 
square  or  oblong,  two  straight  lines  drawn 
across  it  diagonally  from  corner  to  corner 

249 


Banners  of 
Arms 


should  always  equally  divide  the  Scottish 
and  Irish  crosses,  and  if  this  cannot  be  done 
the  flag  is  not  correctly  built  up  (pi.  xxxi). 

It  also  happens  that  unless  the  flag  is 
exactly  square  the  blue  sections  of  the  field 
must  differ  more  or  less  in  size.  Ignorant 
flag-makers  try  to  correct  this,  but  only  by 
dislocating  in  the  middle  the  diagonal  lines 
that  ought  always  to  be  straight  and  con- 
tinuous. 

The  right  way  up  of  a Union  Jack  is 
indicated  by  the  Scottish,  that  is  the 
broader  white,  half  of  the  diagonal  mem- 
bers being  always  uppermost  in  the  two 
pieces  next  the  staff. 


250 


CHAPTER  X 
MARSHALLING  OF  ARMS 

Arms  of  Husband  and  Wife;  Dimidiating;  Im- 
paling; Scutcheons  of  Pretence;  Impalement 
with  Official  Arms;  Arms  of  Ladies;  Heraldic 
Drawing;  Mottoes;  Use  and  Misuse  of  the 
Garter;  Lettering  and  Mottoes. 

In  gathering  up  for  practical  consideration 
some  of  the  points  already  discussed,  as 
well  as  others  that  are  suggested  by  them, 
something  may  first  be  said  on  the  ways  of 
combining  the  arms  of  husband  and  wife. 
This  was  done  originally  by  simply  setting 
them  side  by  side,  a plan  which  of  course 
may  still  be  followed  whenever  it  is  thought 
desirable. 

For  a short  time  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  thirteenth  and  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth century  the  arms  of  husband  and 
wife  were  combined  in  one  shield  by  the 
curious  device  of  halving  or  ‘dimidiating’ 
them,  by  joining  the  half  of  the  one  to  the 
opposite  half  of  the  other,  as  in  the  arms  of 
Aymer  of  Valence  and  Mary  Seynt  Pol, 

251 


Marshalling  still  borne  (since  1347)  by  the  lady’s  foun- 
of  Arms  Nation  of  Pembroke  College  at  Cambridge. 

Owing  however  to  the  many  inconveniences 
which  this  plan  involved,  it  was  soon  ex- 


Fig.  146.  Shield  of  Bryen  impaling  Bures, 
from  a brass  in  Acton  church,  Suffolk. 


changed  for  the  more  simple  way  of 
‘impaling’  or  placing  the  entire  arms  of 
both  parties  side  by  side  in  one  shield 
(fig.  146  and  pis.  viii  c,  xvm  a,  b),  a 
practice  that  has  continued  ever  since, 
252 


except  when  the  wife  is  an  heiress.  In  Marshalling 
that  case  the  lady’s  arms  are  usually  drawn  of  Arms 
upon  a smaller  shield  and  placed  upon  the 
middle  of  the  husband’s  arms  (pi.  v a). 

This  ugly  and  most  inconvenient  plan, 
though  of  considerable  antiquity,  might 
very  well  be  amended  by  the  more  ancient 
way  of  quartering  the  arms  together,  as  is 
still  done  by  the  children  of  the  heiress. 

For  rules  for  the  combination  of  the  arms  of 
a husband  who  has  married  two  or  more 
wives,  or  the  cumbrous  regulations  as  to 
quartering,  the  student  may,  if  he  wishes, 
consult  the  various  manuals  of  heraldry. 

When  a man  is  a member  of  any  Order, 
such  as  the  Garter  or  the  Bath,  only  his 
own  arms  should  be  encircled  by  the  in- 
signia of  the  Order.  Exceptions  to  this 
rule  can  of  course  be  found,  but  it  is  other- 
wise a general  one  that  ought  strictly  to  be 
followed.  Bishops  are  entitled  to  bear 
their  personal  arms  only  impaled  with 
those  of  their  bishopstool  or  cathedral 
church,  and  the  same  rule  applies  to  deans, 
heads  of  colleges,  and  regius  professors 
(like  those  at  Cambridge)  who  have  official 
arms.  The  chancellor  of  a University 
presumably  may  impale  its  arms  with  his 
own. 


253 


shalling  It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  arms 
Arms  0f  ladies,  all  through  the  medieval  period, 
were  borne  in  precisely  the  same  way  as 
their  fathers’  or  their  husbands’,  that  is 
upon  a shield,  lozenge,  or  roundel,  and  that 
the  present  inconvenient  restriction  to  a 
lozenge  did  not  come  into  use  much  before 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
heraldry  and  heraldic  art  were  already  on 
the  down-grade.  The  present  custom 
seems  to  be  for  the  arms  of  married  ladies 
to  be  borne  upon  shields,  and  of  widows 
and  spinsters  upon  lozenges.  From  the 
artistic  standpoint  it  would  certainly  be 
desirable,  whenever  it  is  thought  advisable, 
to  revert  to  the  freedom  of  pre-Elizabethan 
times. 

Enough  has  already  been  said  as  to  the 
elasticity  of  drawing  shields,  helms,  crests, 
and  mantlings,  and  as  to  the  proper  use  of 
supporters,  but  a few  words  may  be  added 
as  to  the  proper  way  of  drawing  the  various 
creatures  that  are  used  in  heraldry. 

Since  heraldry  is  a survival  of  what  was 
once  a living  thing,  it  is  clear  that  if  modern 
work  is  to  look  well,  animals  and  birds 
ought  to  be  drawn  in  a more  or  less  conven- 
tional manner  (figs.  148,  149).  Some,  such 
as  elephants,  dogs,  falcons,  etc.  may  be 

254 


drawn  almost  directly  from  nature;  but  Marshalling 
others,  especially  lions,  if  so  represented  of  Arms 
would  manifestly  be  unfit  to  consort  with 
the  leopards,  the  wivers,  the  griffins,  the 
two-headed  eagles  and  other  delightful  crea- 


Fig.  147.  Lion  with  a forked  tail,  from  a 
brass  at  Spilsby  in  Lincolnshire,  1391. 

tures  of  the  early  heralds  which  they  bor- 
rowed from  the  bestiaries.  The  conven- 
tional treatment  should  not,  however,  be 
carried  to  excess,  nor  should  natural  forms 
be  too  closely  copied.  Here,  as  in  other 
matters  connected  with  heraldry,  a compar- 
ative study  of  good  ancient  examples  will 
soon  show  what  are  the  best  types  to  follow. 

255 


Marshalling 
of  Arms 


It  would  be  an  advantage  too,  if  artists 
would  revert  to  the  old  ways  of  represent- 


Fig.  148.  Shield  with  three  pheasants,  from  a 
brass  at  Checkendon,  Oxon,  1404. 


ing  the  furs  known  as  ermine  and  vair. 
The  ancient  ermine  tails  did  more  or  less 
resemble  the  actual  tail  of  an  ermine,  but 

256 


Fig.  149.  Shield  of  the  arms  of  Sir  Humphrey  Little- 
bury,  from  his  effigy  at  Holbeach  in  Lincolnshire,  c. 
1360,  with  fine  examples  of  heraldic  leopards. 


R 


Marshalling  the  modern  object  with  its  three  dots  above 
of  Arms  has  no  likeness  to  it  whatever  (fig.  150). 

So  too  with  regard  to  vair,  which  represents 


Fig.  150.  Early  and  modern  versions  of 
ermine-tails. 

the  skins  of  grey  squirrels,  the  modern 
treatment  of  it  as  rows  of  angular  eigh- 


Fig.  15 1.  Early  and  modern  versions  of 
vair. 

teenth  century  shields  is  far  removed  from 
the  conventional  forms  of  the  real  skins 
seen  in  the  best  old  work  (fig.  151). 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that 
there  are  no  strict  rules  as  to  the  particular 
shades  of  colour  allowable  in  heraldry,  and 
258 


it  is  one  of  the  surprises  of  the  student  to  Marshalling 
find  what  dull  and  cold  tones  were  anciently  Arms 
used  that  yet  look  quite  right.  The  ap- 
parently bright  reds,  for  example,  of  the 
enamel  in  the  early  stall-plates  at  Windsor 
are  actual  y brick-colour,  and  the  apparent 
fine  blues  a cold  grey;  but  their  combina- 
tion with  gilding  and  silvering  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  ultimate  beautiful  rich 
effect. 

One  thing  that  ought  to  be  most 
scrupulously  avoided  in  all  modern  heraldic 
decoration  is  the  indicating  of  the  gilding 
and  colouring  by  the  pernicious  ‘dot-and- 
dash’  system.  This  is  all  very  well  as  a 
kind  of  shorthand  in  one’s  own  notes  or 
memoranda,  but  it  is  utterly  destructive  of 
artistic  effect  if  applied  in  actual  work. 

Ancient  shields  in  relief  were  no  doubt 
invariably  painted,  like  those  still  to  be 
seen  behind  the  quire  at  Westminster;  but 
let  any  one  try  to  imagine  the  fine  series  at 
York  or  St.  Albans  scored  and  pecked  to 
indicate  the  colour  and  gilding.  If  the 
heraldic  carvings  are  not  to  be  painted,  at 
any  rate  do  not  let  their  surfaces  be 
disfigured.  They  may  always  be  relieved 
by  diapering. 

The  treatment  of  mottoes 'may  not,  at 

259 


Marshalling  first  sight,  seem  to  fall  within  the  scope  of 
of  Arms  this  WOrk,  but  actually  it  is  one  of  very 
real  importance.  There  is  much  to  be  said 
for  the  theory  that  mottoes  are  derived 
from  the  war  cries  of  early  times,  and 
hence  their  frequent  association  with  the 
crest  worn  upon  the  helm.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  examples  upon  seals 
and  other  authorities.  The  association  of 
a motto  with  a shield  only  was  not  common 
anciently,  and  when  it  is  so  found  it  is 
generally  placed  on  a scroll,  like  the  well- 
known  examples  on  the  tomb  of  Edward 
prince  of  Wales  at  Canterbury  (fig.  85). 
In  later  times,  when  shields  began  to  be  en- 
circled by  the  Garter  of  the  famous  Order 
(fig.  152),  mottoes  were  often  arranged 
about  the  shield  in  a similar  way. 

There  was  however  always  this  very 
important  and  noteworthy  difference  and 
distinction,  that  the  buckled  band  now  so 
commonly  used  for  mottoes  was  anciently 
never  allowed  for  any  but  the  motto  of 
the  Order  of  the  Garter.  Other  mottoes 
were  written  on  a band  which  was  fastened 
in  a different  way,  or  merely  disposed 
Garter-wise  round  the  shield. 

The  earliest  known  representation  of  the 
Garter  is  on  a singular  lead  or  pewter  me- 
260 


d allion  (fig.  1 53)  commemorative  of  Edward  Marshalling 
prince  of  Wales,  first  Prince  of  the  Order,  of  Arms 
now  in  the  British  Museum.  In  this 


Fig.  152.  The  Garter,  from  the  brass  of  Thomas 
lord  Camoys,  K.G.,  at  Trotton  in  Sussex. 


the  prince  is  kneeling  bare-headed  before 
a personification  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  with 
his  gloves  on  the  ground  before  him,  and 
an  angel  standing  behind  him  and  holding 
his  crested  helm.  The  whole  is  enclosed 
by  a buckled  band  inscribed  fyottY  j 0\t  fc 

261 


Fig.  153.  Pewter  medallion  with  Edward  prince  of 
Wales,  now  in  the  British  Museum. 

trial  y pcttfe,  with  a cloud  overlapping 
its  upper  margin  from  which  issues  an 
262 


angel  holding  down  the  prince’s  shield  of  Marshalling 
arms.  of  Arms 

It  h as  been  customary  from  within  a few 
years  of  the  foundation  of  the  Order  in 
1348  for  the  Knights-Companions  to  en- 
circle their  personal  arms  with  the  Garter. 

In  a wardrobe  account  of  King  Edward 
III,  from  14  February  1349-50  to  30th 
September  1351,  payments  are  entered  for 
the  making  ‘of  two  pencells  of  sindon  de 
Triple , each  having  in  the  midst  a Garter 
of  blue  sindon  with  a shield  within  the 
same  Garter  of  the  King’s  arms  quartered, 
and  beaten  throughout  the  field  with  eagles 
of  gold  ’ ; but  representations  of  such  a usage 
are  hard  to  find.  A good  early  example 
is  afforded  by  the  monumental  brass  at 
Trotten  in  Sussex  of  Thomas  lord  Camoys 
{ob.  1419).  (Fig.  154.) 

In  illustration  of  the  care  above  referred 
to  of  distinguishing  the  Garter  motto  from 
any  other,  two  concrete  examples  may  be 
cited  : one  on  the  brass  at  Constance  of 
Robert  Hallam  bishop  of  Salisbury  ( ob . 

1416),  where  the  King’s  arms  are  encircled 
by  the  Garter,  and  the  bishop’s  own  arms 
by  an  open  scroll  with  a scripture  (fig.  155) ; 
the  other  on  the  west  porch  of  the  cathedral 
church  of  Norwich,  where  the  arms  of  King 

263 


Marshalling  Henry  VI  have  the  Garter  about  them 
of  Arms  anc|  the  arms  Qf  the  builder  of  the  porch, 
bishop  William  Alnwick  (1426-36),  are 
surrounded  by  a scroll  with  his  motto. 


Fig.  154.  Shield  of  arms  ( a chief  and  three  roundels 
on  the  chief ) encircled  by  the  Garter,  from  the 
brass  of  Thomas  lord  Camoys  ( ob . 1419). 

This  distinction  was  carefully  borne  in 
mind  when  the  insignia  of  British  Orders, 
other  than  that  of  the  Garter,  were  devised, 
and  in  every  case  their  mottoes  are  displayed 
on  plain  and  not  buckled  bands.  In  the 
264 


Albert  Medal  for  Bravery,  however,  the  Marshalling 
encircling  motto  has  been  most  improperly  of  Arms 
placed  on  a buckled  band  like  the  Garter, 
and  the  people  who  supply  4 heraldic 
stationery'  are  notorious  offenders  in  the 
same  direction. 

The  lettering  of  a motto  must  of  course 


Fig.  155.  Shields  encircled  by  the  Garter 
and  a scroll,  from  the  brass  of  Bishop 
Hallam  ( ob . 1416)  at  Constance. 


depend  upon  the  circumstances  of  its  use. 
Nothing  looks  so  well  as  the  so-called 
‘old-English ' or  small  black-letter,  espe- 
cially if  the  height  of  the  words  is  as 
nearly  as  possible  the  same  as  the  width  of 
the  band  or  scroll,  and  the  capitals  are  not 
unduly  prominent ; but  the  form  of  capital 
known  as  Lombardic  is  always  preferable 
to  those  of  the  black-letter  alphabet.  When 
265 


Fig.  156.  Royal  arms  of  King  Henry  VII  within  the  Garter,  of  English  work, 
from  the  King’s  tomb  by  Torregiano  at  Westminster. 


capitals  alone  are  used, fanciful  types  should  Marshalling 
be  avoided  ; a good  Roman  form  such  as  Arms 
is  often  found  in  Tudor  inscriptions  being 


Fig.  157.  Arms  of  St.  George  within  the 
Garter,  from  the  brass  of  Sir  Thomas 
Bullen,  K.G.,  earl  of  Wiltshire  and 
Ormond,  1538,  at  Hever  in  Kent. 


far  better.  If  the  motto  to  be  set  about  a 
shield  is  a short  one  it  can  often  be  ex- 
tended conveniently,  if  necessary,  by  a judi- 

267 


Marshalling  cious  use  of  ornamental  devices  like  roses 
of  Arms  or  other  flowers  between  the  words.  The 
ends  of  scrolls  with  mottoes  have  a more 
satisfactory  appearance  if  shown  partly 
curled  up  and  partly  pulled  out  spirally, 
than  if  forked  and  waved,  as  may  so  often 
be  seen  now-a-days.  Scrolls  always  look 
better  if  not  bordered  or  edged  in  any 
way,  but  this  does  not  apply  to  the  narrow 
bounding  line  that  may  be  necessary  in 
enamelled  work. 


268 


CHAPTER  XI 

CROWNS,  CORONETS,  AND  COLLARS 

Crowns  and  Coronets ; Introduction  of  Coro- 
nets ; Coronets  of  Princes,  Dukes,  and  Earls ; 
Bequests  of  Coronets ; Illustrations  of  Coronets 
and  Crowns;  Collars  and  Chains;  Collars  of 
Orders;  Lancastrian  Collars  of  SS;  Yorkist 
Collars  of  Suns  and  Roses ; Tudor  Collars  of  SS ; 
Other  Livery  Collars;  Waits’  Collars;  Collars 
and  Chains  of  Mayors,  Mayoresses  and  Sheriffs ; 
The  Revival  of  Collars;  Inordinate  Length  of 
modern  Collars. 

At  the  present  day  it  is  the  habit  of  divers 
ladies  of  rank  to  surmount  their  hair,  when 
occasion  allows,  with  diamond  tiaras  of 
surpassing  splendour.  The  ladies  of  olden 
time  were  not  free  from  a similar  weakness, 
but  the  diamond  mines  of  South  Africa 
being  then  unknown,  and  other  gems  too 
costly,  they  encouraged  the  goldsmiths  to 
make  them  beautiful  crowns  and  crestings, 
with  which  they  adorned  their  heads  and 
headgear.  A reference  to  the  accurate 
drawings  and  details  published  by  Stothard 
in  his  Monumental  Effigies  will  show  not  only 

269 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


the  high  artistic  excellence  of  these  orna- 
ments, but  also  how  becoming  they  were 
to  the  ladies  who  wore  them.  They  varied 
greatly  in  design,  from  the  simple  circlet 


Fic.  158.  Crowned  effigy  of  Queen  Eleanor  at 
Westminster. 


of  fleurons  and  trefoils  of  Queen  Eleanor 
of  Castile  (fig.  158)  to  the  sumptuous  piece 
of  jewellery  beset  with  pearls  and  stones, 
which  is  represented  on  the  alabaster  effigy 
of  Queen  Joan  at  Canterbury  (fig.  159) 
and  reflects  so  worthily  the  yet  more 
splendid  crown  of  her  husband,  King 
Henry  IV  (fig.  173). 

270 


Attention  has  already  been  drawn  to  the  Crowns, 

decorative  use  of  crowns  in  heraldry,  and  C°ronets, 

and 

I Collars 


Fig.  159.  Crowned  effigy  of  Queen  Joan  at 
Canterbury. 

a reference  promised  to  the  coronets  of 
peers  and  peeresses. 

Coronets,  as  they  are  now  called,  origi- 
nated as  early  as  1343,  when  Edward  duke 
of  Cornwall  and  earl  of  Chester  was  created 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  invested  by  his  father 
with  a circlet  ( seriam ) on  his  head,  a gold 
ring  on  his  finger,  and  a golden  verge  which 

271 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


was  placed  in  his  hand.  The  circlet  in 
question  passed  into  the  possession  of  his 
brother,  Lionel  duke  of  Clarence,  who  in 
1388  left  in  his  will  ‘a  golden  circlet  with 
which  my  brother  and  lord  was  created 
prince’  as  well  as  ‘that  circlet  with  which 
I was  created  duke.’  This  latter  event 
happened  in  1362,  at  the  same  time  that  his 
brother  John  of  Gaunt  was  created  duke 
of  Lancaster,  when  King  Edward  girded 
his  son  with  a sword  and  put  upon  his 
head  a fur  cap  and  over  it  ‘ un  cercle  d’or 
et  de  peres,’  a circlet  of  gold  and  precious 
stones.  This  investiture  with  a coronet 
was  for  some  time  restricted  to  dukes,  but 
in  1385  King  Richard  II  bestowed  upon 
Richard  earl  of  Oxford  the  new  dignity  of 
marquess  of  Dublin,  and  invested  him  with 
a sword  and  a circlet  of  gold. 

The  investing  of  an  earl  with  a coronet 
does  not  seem  to  have  become  customary 
before  the  reign  of  Edward  VI,  but  earls 
had  worn  coronets  in  virtue  of  their  rank 
for  a long  time  previously.  In  April  1444, 
when  Henry  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick 
was  created  premier  earl  by  Henr}^  VI,  the 
letters  patent  of  his  appointment  empower 
him  ‘to  wear  a golden  circlet  upon  his 
head  and  his  heirs  male  to  do  the  same  on 
272 


feast  days  in  all  places  where  it  is  convenient 
as  well  in  our  presence  as  of  others/  But 
the  practice  can  perhaps  be  carried  still 
further  back,  for  Selden  in  his  Titles  of 
Honour  (p.  680)  quotes  a receipt  dated 
1319  by  William  of  Lavenham,  treasurer 
of  Aymer  of  Valence  earl  of  Pembroke  of 
4 a gold  crown  of  the  said  earl/ 

By  his  will  dated  1375  Richard  FitzAlan 
earl  of  Arundel  leaves  to  Richard  his  son 
4 my  best  crown  ( ma  melieure  coroune) 
charging  him  upon  my  blessing  that  he  part 
not  with  it  during  his  life,  and  that  after 
his  death  he  leave  it  to  his  heir  in  the  same 
manner  to  descend  perpetually  from  heir 
to  heir  to  the  lords  of  Arundel  in  remem- 
brance of  me  and  of  my  soul/  He  also 
leaves  to  his  daughter  Joan  4 my  second- 
best  crown’  and  to  his  daughter  Alice  4 my 
third  crown,’  under  similar  conditions.  The 
earl’s  best  crown  may  be  that  shown  upon 
the  alabaster  effigy  at  Arundel  of  his  grand- 
son Thomas  earl  of  Arundel,  to  whom  it  was 
bequeathed  by  his  father  (fig.  163).  It  has 
alternate  leaves  and  pearled  spikes,  similar 
to  but  richer  and  better  in  design  than  the 
earls’  coronets  of  to-day.  Sir  N.  H.  Nicolas 
suggests  that  earl  Richard’s  second  and  third 
coronets  were  bequeathed  to  his  daughters 

273 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


S 


Crowns,  because  both  were  countesses  ; Joan  being 
^and tS>  W^e  t0  HumPhrey  Bohun  earl  of  Hereford, 
Collars  and  Alice  to  Thomas  Holand  earl  of  Kent. 

There  are  other  bequests  of  coronets  to 


Fig.  160.  Helm  and  crest,  and  bust,  of  Richard 
Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick,  ob.  1439,  from  his 
gilt  latten  effigy  at  Warwick. 


ladies  : Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of  March 
and  Ulster  left  in  1380  to  his  daughter 
Philippa,  afterwards  wife  to  (1)  John 
274 


Hastings  earl  of  Pembroke,  (2)  Richard 
earl  of  Arundel,  and  (3)  John  lord  St.  John 
‘a  coronal  of  gold  with  stones  and  two 
hundred  great  pearls  {un  coronal  (Tor  ove 
perie  et  deuz  cents  grands  perles)  and  also  a 
circlet  with  roses,  with  emeralds  and  rubies 


Fig.  161.  Effigy  of  a lady,  c.  1250,  in  Scarcliffe 
church,  Derbyshire. 

of  Alexandria  in  the  roses  {un  cercle  ove 
roses  emeraudes  et  rubies  d'  alisaundre  en  les 
roses)'  Michael  de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk 
also  left  in  1415  to  his  wife  Katherine  the 
diadem  or  coronet  which  had  belonged  to 
her  father  Hugh  earl  of  Stafford,  who  died 
in  1386. 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


275 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


The  swan’s  head  crest  of  Richard  Beau- 
champ earl  of  Warwick  ( ob . 1439)  on  his 
effigy  at  Warwick  is  encircled  by  a crown  of 
stalked  pearls,  not  unlike  those  of  an  earl’s 
coronet  of  the  present  day  (fig.  160). 

Among  Stothard’s  engravings  are  two  of 


effigies  of  quite  early  date  of  ladies  wearing 
crowns  or  coronets.  One,  at  Scarcliffe  in 
Derbyshire  (fig.  161),  can  not  be  later  than 
about  1250,  and  the  crown  in  this  case  is 
composed  of  some  twenty  simple  leaves  set 
upright  upon  the  edge  of  a narrow  band. 
Theother, at  Staindrop  in  Durham, is  about 
a century  later,  and  represents  a widowed 
276 


Fig.  162.  Effigy  of  a lady  in  Staindrop 
church,  Durham. 


Fig.  163.  Thomas  earl  of  Arundel,  ob.  1416, 
from  his  alabaster  effigy  at  Arundel. 

leaves  with  points  between  (fig.  162).  The 
next  illustration  is  of  special  interest  since 
it  represents  Thomas  earl  of  Arundel  (ob. 

277 


lady,  probably  Margery,  second  wife  of  Crowns, 
John  lord  Nevill,  wearing  a crown  of  curled  Coronets, 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


1416)  wearing  presumably  the  coronet 
mentioned  above  in  his  grandfather's  be- 
quest (fig.  163) ; his  countess  Beatrice  has  a 
slighter  coronet  of  similar  character.  The 


Fig.  164.  Joan  Beaufort,  countess  of  West- 
morland, ob.  1440,  from  her  alabaster 
effigy  in  Staindrop  church,  Durham. 

great  alabaster  tomb,  also  at  Staindrop,  of 
Ralph  earl  of  Westmorland  {ob.  1425)  and 
his  two  countesses  furnishes  the  next  ex- 
ample. In  this  case  the  earl  is  in  armour, 
but  both  ladies  wear  delicate  coronets, 
formed  of  rows  of  points  with  triplets  of 
278 


pearls  and  intervening  single  pearls,  rising 
from  narrow  ornamental  circlets  (fig.  164). 

The  tomb  of  another  earl  of  Arundel, 
William  FitzAlan  ( ob . 1487),  and  of  his 


Fig.  165.  William  FitzAlan,  earl  of  Arundel 
(ob.  1487),  from  his  effigy  at  Arundel. 

countess  Joan,  further  illustrates  the  use 
of  coronets.  The  earl’s  coronet  is  in  this 
case  composed  of  a continuous  row  of  leaves 
with  a jewelled  band  (fig.  165) ; the  count- 
ess wears  a similar  coronet,  but  curiously 

279 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


distorted  behind,  evidently  because  it  was 
thought  to  be  more  becoming  when  so  worn 
(fig.  1 66). 

The  monument  in  St.  Peter’s  church 


Fig.  i 66.  Joan  countess  of  Arundel,  from 
her  effigy  at  Arundel. 


in  Sheffield,  of  George  earl  of  Shrewsbury 
( ob . 1538)  and  his  two  wives  represents 
him  in  armour,  with  the  mantle  and  collar 
280 


of  the  Garter,  and  a coronet,  now  broken, 
about  his  head.  His  wives  also  have 
coronets,  which  are  happily  complete,  and 
are  composed  of  continuous  series  of  twelve 
short  points  tipped  with  pearls.  The  earl’s 
coronet  seems  to  have  had  similar  points 
but  with  sixteen  pearls  instead  of  twelve. 

The  effigy  circa  1500  at  Whitchurch 
in  Salop  of  that  famous  warrior,  John 
Talbot  earl  of  Shrewsbury,  who  was  killed 
in  1453,  also  represents  him  in  the  mantle 
of  the  Garter  over  his  armour  and  a coro- 
net about  his  head.  This  is  unfortunately 
badly  broken  but  seems  to  have  resembled 
that  on  the  Sheffield  figures. 

Besides  these  examples  of  coronets  of 
earls  and  their  countesses  a few  illustra- 
tions of  those  worn  by  dukes  and  duchesses 
may  be  cited. 

It  has  been  already  noted  that  the  shields 
on  the  monument  of  Humphrey  duke  of 
Gloucester  (ob.  1446)  at  St.  Albans  are 
surmounted  alternately  by  crested  helms 
and  by  caps  with  coronets.  These  coronets 
have  a richly  jewelled  circlet  on  which  is  set, 
instead  of  leaves,  a series  of  what  seem  to 
be  cups  full  of  daisies,  with  small  triplets 
of  pearls  between. 

Another  good  coronet  is  to  be  seen 

281 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


on  the  effigy  of  Thomas  Holand  duke  of 
Exeter  ( ob . 1447)  on  the  monument 

formerly  in  St.  Katharine’s  hospital  by  the 
Tower,  now  in  the  chapel  in  Regent’s 


Fig.  167.  John  Holand  duke  of  Exeter,  ob.  1447,  from 
his  effigy  at  St.  Katharine’s  Hospital,  Regent’s  Park. 


Park.  The  duke’s  coronet  here  is  quite 
narrow,  and  composed  of  some  eighteen  or 
twenty  trefoils  set  close  upon  a band  (fig. 
167) ; but  his  two  duchesses  have  coronets 
of  triplets  of  pearls  with  intermediate 
single  pearls,  like  those  of  the  countesses  of 
Westmorland  at  Staindrop  (fig.  168). 

282 


The  alabaster  effigy  at  Ewelme  of  Alice, 
widow  of  William  duke  of  Suffolk  ( ob . 
1450),  shows  her  in  a beautiful  coronet  of 
fleurs-de-lis  alternating  with  small  clusters 


Fig.  168.  Head  of  a duchess  of  Exeter,  from  the  monu- 
ment at  St.  Katharine’s  Hospital,  Regent’s  Park. 

of  pearls  (fig.  169),  and  similar  coronetsonce 
adorned  the  effigies  at  Wingfield  in  Suffolk 
of  her  son  John  de  la  Pole  duke  of  Suffolk 
{ob.  1491)  and  his  wife  Elizabeth. 

The  privilege  of  wearing  coronets  was 
not  extended  to  viscounts  until  the  reign 
of  James  L,  and  to  barons  until  1661. 

283 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


The  official  patterns  of  coronets  to  which 
peers  and  peeresses  are  now  restricted,  have, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  examples  above 
cited,  practically  no  relation  to  the  older 


Fig.  169.  Alice  duchess  of  Suffolk,  ob.  1475,  from 
her  alabaster  effigy  in  Ewelme  church,  Oxon. 

forms,  which  exhibited  the  usual  delightful 
medieval  elasticity  of  design. 

The  present  coronets  too  are  rendered 
uglier  than  ever  by  the  modern  rule  for- 
bidding them  to  be  jewelled  in  any  way. 
This  was  not  formerly  the  case.  Among 
284 


the  stuff  remaining  in  the  palace  of  West- 
minster in  1553,  and  delivered  to  lady 
Jane  Grey,  was  ‘a  coronet  for  a duke,  set 
with  five  roses  of  diamonds,  six  small 
pointed  diamonds,  one  table  emerald,  six 
great  ballases,  seven  blue  sapphires,  and 
thirty-eight  great  pearls,  with  a cap  of  crim- 
son velvet  and  a roll  of  powdered  armyns 
about  the  same;’  and  a beautifully  orna- 
mented coronet  of  much  earlier  date  than 
the  painting  is  shown  in  a portrait  of  John 
marquess  of  Winchester,  the  defender  of 
Basing  House,  who  died  in  1674. 

It  is  the  custom  now  for  ladies  of  rank 
to  wear  their  coronets  only  at  coronations, 
and  to  display  them  on  their  note  paper, 
their  spoons  and  forks,  and  on  the  panels 
of  their  carriages  and  motor  cars.  Such 
coronets  cannot  however  be  considered 
artistic  objects,  even  when  depicted  apart 
from  the  crimson  velvet  bonnets  which 
they  encircle,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
ladies  should  not  devise  and  wear  coronet- 
like orhaments  of  their  own  invention. 

A little  research  will  show  that  crowns 
of  every  form  and  fashion  have  always 
been  freely  used  in  heraldic  decoration, 
both  by  themselves  and  as  ensigning 
letters  or  other  devices,  and  so  long  as 

285 


Crowns, 
Coronets, 
and  1 
Collars 


Fig.  170.  Armorial  ensigns  and  badges  of  the  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  from  the 
gatehouse  of  her  foundation  of  Christ’s  College,  Cambridge. 


Fig.  i 7 i . Arms  of  the  foundress,  the  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  with  yale  sup- 
porters, from  the  base  of  an  oriel  in  Christ’s  College,  Cambridge. 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


care  be  taken  not  to  infringe  what  may  be 
called  official  patterns,  there  are  really  no 
limits  to  a continuance  of  the  ancient 
practice. 

The  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  countess 
of  Richmond  and  mother  of  King  Henry 
VII,  has  left  us  a delightful  series  of 
coronets.  First,  on  a seal  newly  made 
for  her  on  the  accession  of  her  son,  her 
shield  of  arms  is  ensigned  with  a coronet 
or  crown  of  roses  and  fleurs-de-lis  placed 
alternately  along  the  edge  of  a narrow  band 
(pi.  xxx).  Shortly  after  1505  the  lady 
Margaret  began  to  build  Christ’s  College  at 
Cambridge,  and  both  the  gatehouse  (fig. 
170)  and  the  oriel  of  the  master’s  lodge 
(fig.  1 7 1 ) are  rich  in  heraldic  decora- 
tion. In  this  case  both  her  arms  and  her 
portcullis  badge  are  ensigned  with  coronets 
set  with  a continuous  row  of  triplets  of 
pearls.*  In  the  lady  Margaret’s  later 
foundation  of  St.  John’s  College,  her  arms, 
etc.  again  are  displayed  upon  the  stately 
gatehouse ; in  this  case  with  a coronet  of 
roses  and  fleurs-de-lis  over  the  shield,  as  in 
her  seal  (fig.  172).  Her  portcullis  badge  on 
the  other  hand  has  over  it  a fine  coronet 

* On  the  gatehouse  the  coronet  over  the  arms  has 
been  restored. 

288 


PLATE  XXX. — Crowned  shield  with  supporters  and  badges 
of  the  Lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  1485. 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


formed  of  clusters  of  roses,  which  recalls 
the  circlet  of  roses  set  with  emeralds  and 
rubies  of  Alexandria  mentioned  earlier  in 
this  chapter.  It  is  quite  easy  to  conjure 
up  visions  of  coronets  or  circlets  formed  of 
lilies  or  marguerites,  or  of  roses  red  and 
white,  or  of  any  other  suitable  flower  or 
device,  wrought  in  gold  or  gilded  silver, 
and  either  jewelled  or  bright  with  enamel. 
And  let  designers  take  heart  when  so 
recent  and  yet  so  picturesque  an  object  as 
the  so-called  ‘naval  crown’  can  be  pro- 
duced, with  its  cresting  of  sterns  and  square 
sails  of  ships.  This  was  used  most  effec- 
tively some  years  ago  as  one  of  the  decora- 
tions encircling  the  Nelson  Column  in 
London  on  Trafalgar  Day. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  point  out  that  the 
royal  crown  has  been  composed,  from  the 
fifteenth  century,  of  crosses  alternating 
with  fleurs-de-lis,  and  since  the  coronation 
of  King  Henry  IV  it  has  been  distinguished 
by  being  arched  over  cross-wise.  The 
splendid  open  crown  shown  on  the  effigy 
of  the  king  at  Canterbury  (fig.  173)  is 
not  that  wherewith  he  was  crowned,  but 
another  worn  with  the  parliament  robes 
in  which  he  is  represented.  Beautiful 
examples  of  crowns  of  simpler  type  are 
290 


afforded  by  the  effigies  of  King  Henry  III 
(fig.  174)  and  King  Edward  II  (fig.  175). 
When  the  lady  Elizabeth  Wydville  became 
the  queen  of  Edward  IV,  she  ensigned  her 


Fig.  173.  King  Henry  IV  from  his  alabaster  effigy 
in  Canterbury  cathedral  church. 


arms  with  a beautiful  crown  or  coronet  of 
alternate  large  crosses  and  fleurs-de-lis  with 
smaller  fleurs-de-lis  between,  rising  from  a 
richly  jewelled  band  (pi.  xxv),  and  a rich 
example  of  the  crown  of  King  Henry  VIII 
so  treated  is  to  be  seen  on  the  great  carved 
panel  with  his  arms,  etc.  at  New  Hall  in 

291 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Essex  (fig.  189).  Crosses  and  fleurs-de- 
lis  are  now  used  only  in  the  coronets  of 
those  of  royal  blood. 

From  ornaments  for  the  head  it  is  easy 
to  pass  to  those  for  the  neck. 


Fig.  174.  King  Henry  III  from  his  gilt-latten 
effigy  at  Westminster. 

The  wearing  about  the  neck  of  some- 
thing which  was  considered  decorative  or 
becoming  has  been  customary  with  the  fair 
sex  in  every  part  of  the  world  and  in  all 
ages  of  its  history,  and  necklaces  of  every 
form,  material,  and  fashion  are  as  popular 
to-day  as  ever.  But  less  attention  is  now 
292 


paid  to  the  decorative  collars  that  once  were 
worn  not  only  by  women  but  by  men. 

It  has  always  been  a mark  of  distinction 
or  dignity  to  wear  about  the  neck  a chain 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Fig.  175.  King  Edward  II,  from  his  alabaster  effigy 
at  Gloucester. 

or  collar  of  gold,  silver,  or  silver-gilt,  either 
as  an  ornament  or  a decoration  of  honour, 
or  as  a badge  of  partizanship ; and  the 
most  noteworthy  of  these  to-day  are  the 
collars  of  the  various  orders  of  Knighthood, 
such  as  the  Garter  (fig.  177),  the  Thistle, 
and  the  Bath. 


293 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


The  history  and  characteristic  features  of 
these  are  well  known,  and  representations 
of  them  abound  ; moreover  the  wearing  of 


Fig.  176.  Crowned  initials  of  King  Henry 
VII  from  his  lady  chapel  at  Westminster. 

them  is  confined  to  a few  privileged  persons. 
It  is  therefore  hardly  necessary  to  discuss 
them  further  in  a work  like  the  present. 

The  case  is  however  different  with 
regard  to  the  so-called  livery  collars,  since 
these  may  properly  be  regarded  as  models 
294 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Fig.  177.  Thomas  Howard  third  duke  of  Norfolk 
( 1 473 ( ?)~i  554),  with  the  collar  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,  from  the  picture  by  Holbein  at  Windsor  Castle. 

for  the  formation  and  construction  of  such 
similar  collars  as  may  freely  be  worn  to-day. 

295 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


The  most  notable  of  such  decorations 
during  the  medieval  period  was  the  collar 
of  SS  which  formed  the  distinctive  cogni- 
sance of  the  House  of  Lancaster  (figs.  178, 


Fig.  178.  Collars  of  SS. 

1 . From  the  brass  of  Lady  Camoys  1419,  at  Trotton 

in  Sussex. 

2.  From  the  brass  of  Sir  William  Calthorpe,  1420, 

at  Burnham  Thorpe  in  Norfolk. 

179).  It  was  worn  by  persons  of  every 
degree,  from  the  King  and  Queen  to  the 
knight  and  his  esquire,  and  it  was  likewise 
worn  by  their  wives  and  even  conferred  on 
civilians. 

The  collar  of  SS  was  apparently  invented 

296 


by  King  Henry  IV  before  his  accession, 
and  quite  a number  of  important  entries 
that  throw  light  upon  its  history  occur  in 
his  household  accounts  while  he  was  only 
Henry  of  Lancaster  earl  of  Derby. 

In  1 390-1  a gold  signet  was  engraved 


Fig.  179.  Collar  of  SS  from  the  effigy  of 
William  lord  Bardolf,  ob.  1441,  at  Denning- 
ton  in  Suffolk. 

for  him  ‘cum  j plume  et  j coler,’  of  which 
unhappily  no  impressions  are  known.  In 
1391-2  there  was  made  for  him  a ‘coler’ 
of  gold  ‘with  seventeen  letters  of  S after 
the  manner  of  feathers  with  scrolls  and 

297 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


scriptures  in  the  same  with  a swan  in  the 
tiret.’  This  recalls  the  badge  upon  one 
of  Henry’s  own  seals  as  Earl  of  Derby 
(1385),  described  above  (p.  167),  an  ostrich 
plume  entwined  with  a scroll  and  the 
scripture  foUPCrCYttC  (pi.  xxiv  c),  and  we 
know  from  other  sources  of  Henry’s  favour 
towards  the  Bohun  swan,  which  device  he 
used  in  right  of  his  first  wife,  the  lady 
Mary  Bohun.  The  collar  of  SS  moreover, 
on  the  effigy  of  John  Gower  the  poet  (ob. 
1402),  in  Southwark  cathedral  church,  has 
a swan  on  the  pendant  of  it,  and  no  doubt 
represents  the  collar  actually  given  to  him 
by  Henry  of  Lancaster  in  1393-4.  The 
inital  letter,  too,  of  the  charter  granted  to 
the  city  of  Gloucester  by  Henry  as  King  in 
1399,  contains  a crown  encircled  by  a collar 
of  SS  ending  in  two  lockets  between  which 
is  a pendant  charged  with  a swan.  The 
earl’s  accounts  for  1393-4  mention  the 
purchase  of  the  silver  of  ‘a  collar  made 
with  rolled  esses  and  given  to  Robert 
Waterton  because  the  lord  had  given  the 
collar  of  the  same  Robert  to  another 
esquire.’ 

In  1396-7  a charge  is  entered  ‘for  the 
weight  of  a collar  made,  together  with 
esses,  of  flowers  of  (ODCt^nC  DOUS  be 
298 


moy,*  hanging  and  enamelled,  weighing 
eight  ounces/ 

What  these  flowers  were  is  uncertain. 
Charges  for  making  ‘flores  domini’  occur 
in  1390-1  and  other  years,  and  in  1391-2 
three  hundred  leaves  (?  flowers)  de  souveine 
vous  de  moy  of  silver-gilt  were  bought  for 
one  of  the  earl’s  robes. 

In  1407  Henry  of  Lancaster  as  King 
ordered  payment  to  be  made  to  Christo- 
pher Tildesley,  citizen  and  goldsmith  of 
London,  of  the  huge  sum  of  £385  6s.  8 d. 
‘for  a collar  of  gold  worked  with  this  word 
f0PCtCjnC3  and  letters  of  S and  X en- 
amelled and  garnished  with  nine  large 
pearls,  twelve  large  diamonds,  eight  balases 
and  eight  sapphires,  together  with  a great 
nouche  in  manner  of  a treangle  with  a 
great  ruby  set  in  it  and  garnished  with  four 
large  pearls. ’f 

Most  of  these  entries  suggest  that  the 
mysterious  SS  stand  for  Soveignez , and 
possibly  at  one  time  this  was  the  case,  but 

* In  1426  Sir  John  Bigod  lord  of  Settrington  left 
to  his  daughter  a covered  cup  ‘pounset  cum  sovenez 
de  moy’;  perhaps  a gift  to  him  from  Henry  of 
Lancaster.  Testamenta  Eboracensia  (Surtees  Soc.  4) 

i.  41 1. 

f P.R.O.  Issue  Rolls  (Pells)  Mich.  8 Henry  IV 
(1407). 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


299 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Henry’s  seal  as  earl  of  Derby  in  1385 
containing  the  feathers  with  the  scripture 
lOUDereyne  must  not  be  overlooked. 
There  is  moreover,  on  a fragment  which 
has  fortunately  survived  in  a tattered  and 
burnt  mass  of  fragments  of  a jewel  account 
of  Henry’s  reign  in  the  Public  Record 
Office,  the  important  entry  of  a payment 
to  Christopher  Tildesley  of  ‘a  collar  of 
gold  made  for  the  King  with  twenty-four 
letters  of  S pounced  with  (ODCratn,  and 
four  bars,  two  pendants,  and  a tiret  with  a 
nouche  garnished  with  a balas  and  six  large 
pearls  (the  balas  bought  of  the  said 
Christopher  for  £10  and  the  price  of  the 
pearls  at  40J.,  being  £12)  weighing  7 oz. 
Troy  at  23J.  4 d.  £8  3 s.  4 d.  Also  a black 
tissue  for  the  same  collar  3/.  4 d.  and  for 
the  workmanship  of  it  £4.’*  The  King’s 
word  foperayne  also  occurs  many  times, 
with  the  Queen’s  word  a temperance,  on 
the  tester  over  their  monument  at  Canter- 
bury, which  has  likewise  the  shield  of  arms 
for  the  King,  the  King  and  Queen,  and  the 
Queen  alone,  encircled  in  each  case  with  a 
collar  of  SS  with  golden  eagles  placed  upon 
the  tiret.  Gold  eagles  also  form  stops  be- 
tween the  repetitions  of  the  word  (OPCraynC. 

* Accounts,  Exch.  K.  R.  404  / 18. 


300 


Another  example  of  a collar  of  SS  with  frowns, 
an  eagle  as  a pendant  is  to  be  seen  on  the  an(j  ; 
monument  of  Oliver  Groos,  esquire  ( ob . Collars 
1439)  in  Sloley  church,  Norfolk  (fig.  180). 


Fig.  180.  Spandrel  of  the  tomb  of  Oliver  Groos,  Esq. 
(ob.  1439)  in  Sloley  church,  Norfolk,  with  collar  of  SS. 

301 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Examples  of  effigies  in  stone  or  brass  of 
men  and  women  wearing  the  collar  of  SS 
are  common  throughout  the  Lancastrian 
period.  The  SS  seem  in  most  cases  to  be 
represented  as  sewn  or  worked  upon  a band 
of  silk,  velvet,  or  other  stuff,*  which  usually 
ends  in  buckled  lockets,  linked  by  a trefoil- 
shaped tiret,  from  which  is  hung  a small 
ring  (fig.  181). 

Several  other  interesting  occurrences  of 
the  collar  of  SS  may  be  noted.  In  one  of 
the  windows  in  the  chapter  house  at  Wells 
is  a shield  of  the  arms  of  Mortimer,  and 
next  to  it  a gold  star  within  the  horns  of  a 
crescent  party  blue  and  silver,  encircled 
by  a collar  of  SS  also  half  blue  and 
half  white.  As  there  are  associated  with 
th  ese  the  arms  of  the  King  and  of  Thomas 
duke  of  Clarence  ( ob . 1421),  they  probably 
commemorate  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of 
March,  who  died  in  1425. 

In  1449  a receipt  given  to  the  steward 
of  Southampton  by  the  prior  of  the  Shene 
Charterhouse,  which  was  founded  by  King 
Henry  V,  bears  a seal  with  tbs  within  a 
collar  of  SS ; and  in  St.  Mary’s  church  at 

* Notice  of  the  theft  of  a collar  of  black  silk  dotted 
( stipatum ) with  silver  letters  of  SS  is  entered  on  the 
Patent  Roll  of  7 Henry  IV  (1406),  part  ii,  m.  29. 

302 


Bury  St.  Edmunds  the  ceiling  over  the  Crowns, 
tomb  of  John  Baret,  an  ardent  Lancastrian  ^°a™jets’ 

T Collars 


2 

Fig.  i 8 i . Collars  of  SS  from  (i)  the  effigy  of  Queen 
Joan  at  Canterbury,  and  (2)  the  effigy  of  Robert 
lord  Hungerford  at  Salisbury. 

who  died  in  1480,  is  painted  with  collars 
of  SS  surrounding  his  monogram. 

303 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


There  is  also  in  a MS.  in  the  British 
Museum,*  written  probably  for  John  lord 
Lovel  (ob.  1414),  a painting  of  the  arms  of 
Holand  quartering  Lovel  surrounded  by  a 
collar,  one  half  of  which  is  white  and  the 
other  half  blue,  with  gold  letters  cf  SS, 
having  for  a pendant  a gold  fetterlock, 
party  inside  of  red  and  black. 

On  a brass  c.  1475  at  Muggington 
in  Derbyshire  the  Beaufort  portcullis 
appears  as  a pendant  to  the  collar  of  SS. 

With  the  rise  to  power  of  the  Yorkists 
on  the  accession  of  Edward  IV  a rival  collar 
to  that  of  the  Lancastrian  livery  came  into 
vogue,  composed  of  blazing  suns  and  York 
roses  disposed  alternately  (fig.  182).  It 
may  be  seen  in  various  forms  on  a number 
of  monumental  effigies  and  brasses,  usually 
with  the  couchant  white  lion  of  the  house 
of  March  as  a pendant,  but  on  the  accession 
of  Richard  III  the  lion  was  replaced  by 
his  silver  boar.  On  the  wooden  Nevill 
effigies  at  Brancepeth  the  earl  has  a collar 
of  rayed  suns  with  the  boar  pendant, 
while  the  countess  has  a collar  of  alternate 
suns  and  roses.  Joan  countess  of  Arundel, 
on  her  effigy  at  Arundel  (fig.  166),  shows 
another  variation  by  interpolating  the 
* Harl.  MS.  7026,  f.  13. 

304 


FitzAlan  oak  leaves  between  the  suns  and  Crowns, 

the  roses.  Coronets, 

and 

i Collars 


2 

Fig.  182.  Collars  of  suns  and  roses  from  (1) 
the  effigy  of  a knight  of  the  Erdington 
family  at  Aston,  Warwickshire,  and  (2)  from 
the  effigy  of  Sir  Robert  Harcourt  K.G., 
1471,  at  Stanton  Harcourt,  Oxon. 


U 


305 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


After  the  accession  of  Henry  VII  the 
collar  of  SS  was  again  revived,  but  with 
variations  and  different  pendants.  The 
effigy,  for  example,  at  Salisbury  of  Sir  John 
Cheyney  K.G.  ( ob . 1489)  has  appended  to 
his  SS  collar  a large  portcullis  charged 
with  a rose.  A collar  of  gold,  weighing 
over  7 ounces,  is  recorded  to  have  been 
given  in  1499  to  adorn  the  image  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  in  Norwich  cathedral  church 
and  is  described  as  containing  twenty-five 
letters  of  S,  two  tirets,  two  ‘purcoles’  (port- 
cullises) and  one  double  R (?)  with  a red 
rose  enamelled.*  A similar  collar,  but  all  of 
gold,  is  shown  in  the  portrait  of  Sir  Thomas 
More,  painted  by  Holbein  in  1527  (fig. 183). 
On  a brass  c.  1510  at  Little  Bentley  in  Essex 
the  collar  of  SS  has  a portcullis  pendant,  and 
on  the  Manners  effigy  ( c . 1513)  at  Windsor 
and  the  Vernon  effigy  (1537)  at  Tong 
the  pendant  to  the  knight’s  collar  is  a large 
double  rose. 

The  collars  on  the  Salkeld  effigies  (1501) 
at  Salkeld  in  Cumberland  are  composed  of 
SS  and  four-leaved  flowers  alternately,  and 
that  worn  by  Sir  George  Forster  (ob.  1526) 
on  his  tomb  at  Aldermaston  in  Berkshire  is 
of  SS  laid  sideways  and  alternating  with 
* Norwich  Sacrist’s  Register,  xi.  f.  hi. 

306 


Fig.  183.  SirThomas  More  wearing  the  collar  of  SS  ; 
from  an  original  portrait  painted  by  Holbein  in 
1527,  belonging  to  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Huth. 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


knots,  and  has  a portcullis  and  rose  pendant. 
In  1545  Sir  John  Alen,  sheriff  in  1518  and 


307 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


lord  mayor  in  1525  and  1535,  bequeathed 
for  the  use  of  the  lord  mayor  of  London, 
and  his  successors  for  ever,  his  collar  of 
SS,  knots,  and  roses  of  red  and  white 
enamel ; and  a cross  of  gold  with  precious 
stones  and  pearls  was  given  to  be  worn 
with  it  in  1558.  An  effigy  of  a Lisle  c. 
1550  at  Thruxton  in  Hants  has  a similar 
collar  of  SS,  knots,  and  roses,  also  with  a 
cross  as  a pendant.  Sir  John  Alen’s  collar, 
somewhat  enlarged,  and  with  a modern 
‘jewel’  as  a pendant,  is  still  worn  by  the 
lord  mayor  of  London,  and  is  the  only 
medieval  collar  of  SS  that  has  survived. 

After  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VIII  the 
wearing  of  the  collar  of  SS  gradually 
became  restricted  to  judges  and.  other 
officials,  and  has  so  survived  to  the  present 
day,  when  it  is  still  worn  in  England  by 
the  lord  chief  justice,  the  kings-of-arms, 
heralds,  and  pursuivants,  and  by  the  ser- 
geants-at-arms. 

The  lord  chief  justice’s  collar,  like  all 
those  formerly  worn  by  the  judges,  is  com- 
posed of  SS  and  knots ; the  others  of  SS 
only. 

Beside  the  livery  collars  above  mentioned, 
others  have  been  worn  from  time  to  time. 

In  the  exquisitely  painted  diptych  of 
308 


Richard  II  and  his  avowries,  now  at  Wilton 
House,  the  King  has  about  his  neck  a collar 
formed  of  golden  broom-cods,  and  the 
gorgeous  red  mantle  in  which  he  is  habited 
is  covered  all  over  with  similar  collars  en- 
closing his  favourite  badge,  the  white  hart. 
A collar  of  gold  ‘de  Bromecoddes’  with  a 
sapphire  and  two  pearls  occurs  in  the  great 
inventory  taken  on  the  death  of  King 
Henry  V,  and  a collar  formed  of  SS  and 
broom-cods  was  also  made  for  King  Henry 
VI  in  July  1426.* 

On  his  effigy  at  Ripon  ( c . 1390)  Sir 
Thomas  Markenfield  displays  a collar 
formed  of  park  palings,  which  widen  out 
in  front  to  enclose  a couchant  hart  (fig.  184). 
If  this  were  not  a personal  collar,  it  may 
have  been  a livery  of  Henry  of  Lancaster 
as  earl  of  Derby. 

A brass  of  the  same  date  of  a knight, 
formerly  at  Mildenhall,  showed  him  as 
wearing  a collar  apparently  once  composed 
of  scrolls  with  scriptures,  joining  in  front 
upon  a large  crown  with  a collared  dog  or 
other  beast  within  it. 

The  brass  at  Wootton-under-Edge  of 
Thomas  lord  Berkeley  ( ob . 1417)  shows 

* John  Anstis,  The  Register  of  the  most  noble  Order 
of  the  Garter  (London,  1724),  ii.  116  note. 

309 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


him  with  a collar  sewn  with  mermaids,  the 
cognisance  of  his  house  (fig.  185). 


Fig.  184.  Head  of  the  effigy  in  Ripon  Minster 
of  Sir  Thomas  Markenfield  with  livery  collar 
of  park-palings. 


In  his  will  dated  1430  William  Stowe 
the  elder,  of  Ripon,  a retainer  in  the 
310 


household  of  the  earl  of  Northumberland,  Crowns, 
bequeathes  his  silver  livery  Anglice  cres-  Coronets. 
saunt  and  his  livery  Anglice  coller  to  the  c0nars 
shrine  of  St.  Wilfrid.*  Possibly  the  ‘cres- 
saunt’  was  an  object  similar  to  that  here 
figured  (now  belonging  to  the  Duke  of 


Fig.  85.  Thomas  lord  Berkeley  ( ob . 1417)  with  a 
collar  of  mermaids,  from  his  brass  at  Wootton- 
under-Edge,  Gloucestershire. 


Northumberland),  and  the  collar  like  that 
formed  of  p’s  and  crescents  enclosing  p’s 
linked  together  which  is  engraved  upon  it 
(fig.  186). 

* “ Item  ego  liberaturam  meam  argenteam  Anglice 
cressaunt,  et  liberaturam  meam  Anglice  coller.  ad 
feretrum  Sancte  Wilfridi.”  Test.  Ebor.  ii.  13. 

311 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


The  earlier  collars,  as  has  already  been 
noted,  were  composed  of  devices  sewn 
upon  a band  of  stuff,  but  in  later  examples 
a more  open  treatment  is  found  wherein 
the  devices  are  linked  together  by  short 


Fig.  i 86.  Silver  badge  belonging  to  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland. 


pieces  of  chain,  as  in  the  collar  of  SS 
shown  in  Sir  Thomas  More’s  portrait. 
The  Yorkist  collar  of  suns  and  roses  on  an 
effigy  at  Erdington  is  so  treated,  as  is  the 
collar  of  SS  and  flowers  on  the  Salkeld 
effigies,  which  may  perhaps  be  a personal 
and  not  a livery  collar. 

312 


Collarsof  similar  construction,  but  always  Crowns, 
of  silver,  with  pendent  scutcheons  of  the  Coronets, 
town  arms,  were  worn  by  the  little  bands  Collars 
of  minstrels  called  waits,  formerly  in  the 
employ  of  most  towns  of  importance  (fig. 
l8?)* 

In  London  the  sixwaits  appointed  in  1475 
had  silver  collars  of  SS  with  scutcheons  of 
the  city  arms.  At  Exeter  the  four  waits’ 
collars,  dating  from  about  1500,  still  exist, 
and  are  formed  of  roundels  with  It’s  and 
H’s  alternately  (fig.  187).  Two  beautiful 
waits’  collars  at  Norwich  ( c . 1550)  are  com- 
posed of  silver  castles  and  gilded  leopards 
alternately,  like  thosein  the  appended  shield 
(fig.  187).  The  waits’  collars  at  Lynn  were 
formed  of  scrolled  leaves  alternating  with 
dragons’  heads  pierced  with  crosses,  like 
those  in  the  town  arms,  which  are  allusive 
of  St.  Margaret  (fig.  187).  At  York  the 
collars  are  formed  wholly  of  little  silver 
leopards,  and  at  Beverley  of  eagles  and 
beavers  alternately.  The  waits’  collars  at 
Bristol  date  from  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary, 
and  are  composed  of  pierced  roundels  con- 
taining alternately  the  letters  CB  and  a 
rose  dimidiating  a pomegranate. 

The  wearing  of  collars,  or  chains  as  they 
are  called,  by  mayors,  mayoresses,  and 

313 


sheriffs  is  comparatively  modern.  It  was 
formerly  the  custom  for  every  person  of 
any  dignity  to  wear  a chain,  and  it  was 
only  when  chains  began  to  go  out  of 
fashion  that  the  wearing  of  them  survived 
among  persons  of  particular  dignity  such 
as  mayors  and  sheriffs. 

The  collar  of  SS  worn  by  the  lord  mayor 
of  London  is  an  exceptional  example,  and 
the  only  other  early  mayor’s  chain  is  that 
given  to  Kingston-on-Hull  in  1564  and 
remade  in  1570.  A plain  gold  chain  was 
bequeathed  to  the  city  of  York  in  1612, 
and  ‘a  fayre  chayn  of  gold  double 
linked  with  a medall  of  massy  gold’  was 
given  to  the  town  of  Guildford  in  1673. 
In  1716  a gold  chain  for  the  mayor  was 
given  to  the  city  of  Norwich,  but  passed 
on  for  the  use  of  the  deputy  mayor  on  a 
new  chain  being  given  in  1757.  Yarmouth 
bought  itself  a chain  in  1734,  and  seven 
other  towns  became  possessed  of  mayors’ 
chains  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Down  to  1850  some  fifteen  more 
mayors’  chains  came  into  existence,  mostly 
of  simple  type,  like  the  older  chains,  with 
one  or  more  rows  of  plain  or  ornate  links, 
Since  1850  practically  every  town  that  can 
boast  of  a corporation  has  likewise  got  a 

315 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


chain  for  its  mayor,  and  appalling  creations 
many  of  them  are,  with  rows  of  tablet  links, 
and  armorial  pendants  as  large  as  saucers. 

A simple  gold  chain  to  be  worn  by  the 
sheriffs  of  Norwich  was  given  in  1739,  but 
those  at  Chester,  Newcastle,  Exeter,  and 
other  places  are  quite  recent.  In  London 
it  has  been  the  custom  for  the  friends  and 
admirers  of  the  sheriffs  to  present  them  with 
elaborate  gold  collars  on  their  accession  to 
office,  but  these  are  happily  private  prop- 
erty and  not  official  insignia.  The  same 
description  applies  to  them  as  to  the  recent 
mayors’  chains. 

Chains  for  mayoresses  have  not  yet  be- 
come general,  but  they  are  being  multiplied 
yearly.  The  mayoress  of  Kingston-on- 
Hull  had  an  official  chain  as  early  as  1604, 
but  it  was  sold  as  being  ‘useless’  in  1835. 
The  lady  mayoress  of  York  has  a chain  of 
plain  gold  links  given  in  1670,  which  is 
regularly  weighed  on  its  delivery  and  re- 
turn by  the  wearer.  All  other  mayoresses’ 
chains  are  quite  recent,  and  in  most  cases 
of  the  same  fearsome  design  as  those  worn 
by  their  husbands. 

The  unfortunate  mayors,  mayoresses, 
and  sheriffs  are  practically  at  the  mercy  of 
ignorant  and  inartistic  tradesmen  for  the 
316 


designing  and  making  of  the  collars  they  Crowns, 
are  called  upon  to  wear  officially,  but  that  Coronets, 
is  no  reason  why  people  with  more  en-  c0uars 
lightened  ideas  should  hot  invent,  design, 
and  wear  collars  or  chains  that  are  beau- 
tiful in  themselves.  The  examples  already 
quoted  and  the  many  illustrations  of  others 
that  are  accessible  will  show  what  comely 
ornaments  the  old  heraldic  collars  were, 
and  many  a lady  would  look  well  in  a 
collar  to  whom  a necklace  is  most  un- 
becoming. Flowers,  letters,  and  devices  of 
heraldic  import  can  easily  be  embroidered 
in  gold,  or  struck  out  of  metal  and 
enamelled,  and  then  be  sewn  down  on 
velvet  or  silk  stuff,  or  linked  together  by 
fine  chains/ 

But  let  every  wearer  of  a chain  or  collar 
avoid  the  error  of  making  it  too  long. 

The  ancient  collars  were  quite  short,  and 
therefore  rested  comfortably  and  easily 
upon  the  shoulders.  Official  collars  have 
however  grown  to  so  preposterous  a length 
that  they  have  to  be  tied  with  bows  of 
ribbons  upon  the  shoulders  to  hinder  them 
from  slipping  off  the  wearer  altogether  ! 

The  reason  of  this  is  curious  and  instruc- 
tive. The  old  collars  were,  as  aforesaid,  of 
sensible  dimensions,  but  the  introduction 

317 


Crowns, 

Coronets, 

and 

Collars 


of  wigs  in  the  seventeenth  century  necessi- 
tated the  collars  being  lengthened  to  be 
worn  outside  them.  Wigs  had  their  day 
and  at  last  disappeared  from  general  wear, 
but  the  lengthened  collars  remain,  and  it 
has  not  occurred  to  anyone  in  authority 
that  they  might  now  advantageously  be 
shortened.  So  the  inconvenience  goes  on. 


318 


CHAPTER  XII 
HERALDIC  EMBROIDERIES 


The  Introduction  of  Armorial  Insignia  in  Em- 
broidered Vestments  : on  Robes  : on  Beds,  etc. 

No  one  who  has  had  occasion  to  examine 
any  series  of  old  wills  and  inventories, 
especially  those  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  can  fail  to  have  noticed 
what  a large  part  was  played  by  heraldry 
in  the  household  effects  of  our  forefathers. 
In  the  vestments  and  other  ornaments  of 
the  chapel,  the  hallings,  bankers,  and 
like  furniture  of  the  hall,  the  hangings  and 
curtains  of  the  beds  and  bedchambers,  the 
gold  and  silver  vessels  and  utensils  of  the 
table,  or  in  carpets  and  cushions  and  foot- 
stools, shields  of  arms,  badges,  mottoes, 
and  quasi-heraldic  devices  of  all  sorts  were 
as  common  as  blackberries  in  autumn. 

And  the  evidence  of  illuminated  pictures 
and  monumental  effigies  is  equally  strong 
in  showing  that  heraldry  was  quite  as  much 
in  vogue  for  personal  adornment. 

As  a matter  of  fact  heraldry  had  its  very 

319 


Fig.  188.  Part  of' an  embroidered  altar  frontal  with 
a rebus  at  Baunton  in  Gloucestershire.  Date,  late 
fifteenth  century. 


origin  in  a system  of  devices  to  be  worn 
on  shields  and  banners  and  coats-of-arms 
to  distinguish  the  wearer  in  battle,  and 
from  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  knight  it  was 
but  a step  to  the  armorial  gown  or  mantle 
of  his  lady. 

It  would  be  somewhat  tedious  to  extract 
from  the  authorities  just  cited,  especially 
since  they  are  easily  accessible,  every  entry 
relating  to  an  heraldic  ornament  or  piece 
of  furniture.  But  with  regard  to  hangings 
and  embroideries  the  case  is  somewhat 
different,  inasmuch  as  numbers  of  ladies 
are  engaged  nowadays  in  stitch-work  of 
every  kind,  amongst  which  heraldic  em- 
broidery ought  certainly  to  have  a p’ace. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  inventories  of 
Church  stuffs  furnish  us  with  some  of  the 
earliest  examples  of  heraldic  embroideries, 
and  often  in  sufficiently  precise  terms  to 
enable  us  to  realize  what  the  things  looked 
like. 

Thus  an  inventory  taken  in  1315  of  the 
ornaments  at  Christchurch,  Canterbury, 
enumerates  such  things  as  a chasuble  and 
five  copes,  the  gift  of  Katharine  Lovel, 
sewn  with  arms  of  divers  persons ; a 
white  cope  of  the  arms  of  the  King  of 
Scotland  ; a cope  of  Peter  bishop  of  Exeter 

321 


Heraldic 
Em  broi- 
deries 


X 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


( ob . 1291)  of  baudekyn  ‘with  biparted 
shields  ’ (an  early  example) ; a cope  of 
John  of  Alderby  bishop  of  Lincoln,  and 
another  of  Thomas  Burton  bishop  of 
Exeter,  of  green  cloth  embroidered  with 
shields ; an  albe  with  apparels  of  blue 
velvet  embroidered  with  shields  and  fleurs- 
de-lis  ; two  albes  sewn  with  shields  and 
black  letters,  and  a third  of  red  samite 
embroidered  with  shields  and  popinjays; 
an  albe  sewn  with  lozenges  with  the  arms 
of  the  King  of  England  and  of  Leybourne  ; 
an  albe  sewn  with  shields  and  embroidered 
with  letters ; an  albe  sewn  with  the  arms 
of  Northwood  and  Poynyngs  in  quad- 
rangles ; and  an  albe,  stole,  and  fanon  sewn 
with  divers  arms  in  lozenges  with  purple 
frets.  The  same  inventory  mentions  a 
vestment  of  Philip  King  of  France,  made, 
quite  properly,  of  blue  cloth  with  fleur-de- 
lis  ; and  a number  of  vestments  with 
orphreys  of  the  arms  of  the  King  of  England 
and  of  France. 

The  inventory  of  the  vestry  of  West- 
minster Abbey  taken  in  1388  also  contains 
some  interesting  heraldic  ornaments,  such 
as  a frontal  with  the  arms  of  England  and 
France  in  red  and  blue  velvet  woven  with 
golden  leopards  and  fleur-de-lis,  from  the 
322 


burial  of  King  Edward  III ; six  murrey  Heraldic 
carpets  woven  with  the  new  arms  of  the  Embroi- 
King  of  England  and  of  the  count  of  enes 
Hainault  (in  other  words,  the  quartered 
shield  adopted  by  Edward  III  in  1340, 
and  the  arms  of  his  queen,  Philippa  of 
Hainault) ; four  carpets  of  the  arms  of  the 
earl  of  Pembroke ; four  carpets  of  red 
colour  woven  with  white  shields  having 
three  red  fleurs-de-lis,  of  the  gift  of  Richard 
Twyford,  whose  arms  they  were ; five 
black  carpets  having  in  the  corners  shields 
of  the  arms  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Edward  ; 
two  green  silk  cloths  sewn  with  the  arms 
of  England,  Spain,  and  Oueen  Eleanor;  a 
bed  with  a border  with  the  arms  of  the 
King  of  Scotland  ; three  new  copes  of  a 
red  colour  of  noble  cloth  of  gold  damask, 
with  orphreys  of  black  velvet  embroidered 
with  the  letters  T and  A and  swans  of 
pearl,  the  gift  of  Thomas  duke  of  Gloucester 
whose  wife  was  Eleanor  Bohun,  and  her 
family  badge  a white  swan  ; a cope  of  red 
velvet  with  gold  leopards  and  a border  of 
blue  velvet  woven  with  gold  fleurs-de-lis, 
formerly  the  lord  John  of  Eltham’s,  whose 
fine  alabaster  tomb  in  the  abbey  church  has 
the  same  arms  on  his  shield. 

A St.  Paul’s  inventory  of  1402  also 

323 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


contains  a few  choice  examples  : a cope  of 
red  velvet  with  gold  lions  and  orphreys  of 
the  collars  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster  and  a 
stag  lying  in  the  middle  of  each  collar;  a 
suit  of  blue  cloth  of  gold  powdered  with 
gold  crowns  in  each  of  wh.ch  are  fixed  two 
ostrich  feathers  ; six  copes  of  red  cloth  of 
gold  with  blue  orphreys  with  golden- 
hooded  falcons  and  the  arms  of  Queen 
Anne  of  Bohemia;  three  albes  and  amices 
of  linen  cloth  with  orphreys  of  red  velvet 
powdered  and  worked  with  little  angels 
and  the  arms  of  England,  given  by  Queen 
Isabel ; three  albes  and  amices  with  apparels 
of  red  cloth  of  gold  powdered  with  divers 
white  letters  of  S and  with  golden  leopards, 
given  by  John  of  Gaunt ; two  great  cushions 
of  silk  cloth  of  blue  colour  with  a white 
cross  throughout,  and  in  each  quarter  of 
the  cross  the  golden  head  of  a lion. 

The  secular  documents  carry  on  the 
story. 

Some  quite  noteworthy  items  may  be 
found  in  the  account  of  the  expenses  of  the 
great  wardrobe  of  King  Edward  III  (1345- 
48-9)  : for  making  a bed  of  blue  taffata 
for  the  King  powdered  with  garters  con- 
taining this  word  bony  foil  c\  tnal  y 
pertfe ; for  making  a jupe  of  blue  taffata  for 

324 


the  King’s  body  with  Garters  and  buckles  Heraldic 
and  pendants  of  silver-gilt ; for  making  40  Ej^broi- 
clouds  for  divers  of  the  Kings’  garments, 
embroidered  with  gold,  silver,  and  silk, 
with  an  £ in  the  middle  of  gold,  garnished 
with  stars  throughout  the  field  ; for  making 
six  pennons  for  trumpets  and  clarions 
against  Christmas  Day  of  sindon  beaten 
with  the  King’s  arms  quarterly;  for  making 
of  a bed  of  red  worsted  given  to  the  lord 
King  by  Thomas  de  Colley  powdered  with 
silver  bottles  having  tawny  bands  and  cur- 
tains of  sindon  beaten  with  white  bottles ; 
for  making  a harness  for  the  lord  David 
King  of  Scotland  of  ‘blu’  velvet  with  a 
pale  of  red  velvet  and  within  the  pale 
aforesaid  a white  rose;  for  making  a har- 
ness of  white  bokeram  for  the  King 
stencilled  with  silver,  namely  a tunic  and 
shield  wrought  with  the  King’s  word  bay 
bay  tl]e  mytbe  fnxtn;  by  gobes  joule  3 
am  tby  man  and  a crupper,  etc.  stencilled 
with  silver;  for  making  a doublet  for  the 
King  of  white  linen  cloth  having  about  the 
sleeves  and  bottom  a border  of  green  long 
cloth  wrought  with  clouds  and  vines  of 
gold  and  with  the  King’s  word  tt.  tS.  a S. 
it.  is. 

In  1380  Edmund  Mortimer  earl  of 

325 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


March,  leaves  'our  great  bed  of  black 
satin  embroidered  with  white  lions  (the 
badge  of  the  house  of  March)  and  gold 
roses  with  scutcheons  of  the  arms  of 
Mortimer  and  Ulster’;  and  in  1385  Joan 
princess  of  Wales  leaves  to  King  Richard 
her  son  ‘my  new  bed  of  red  velvet  em- 
broidered with  ostrich  feathers  and  leop- 
ards’ heads  of  gold  with  branches  and 
leaves  issuing  from  their  mouths.’ 

In  1389  William  Pakington  archdeacon 
of  Canterbury  leaves  ‘my  hailing  of  red 
with  a shield  of  the  King’s  arms  in  the 
midst  and  with  mine  own  arms  in  the 
corners’;  and  in  1391  Margaret,  the  wife 
of  Sir  William  Aldeburgh,  leaves  (i)  a red 
hailing  with  a border  of  blue  with  the  arms 
of  Baliol  and  Aldeburgh,  (ii)  a red  bed 
embroidered  with  a tree  and  recumbent 
lion  and  the  arms  of  Aldeburgh  and 
Tillzolf,  and  (iii)  a green  bed  embroidered 
with  griffins  and  the  arms  of  Aldeburgh. 

The  inventory  of  Thomas  of  Woodstock 
duke  of  Gloucester,  taken  in  1397,  also 
contains  some  interesting  items  : a white 
hailing  (or  set  of  hangings  for  a hall)  con- 
sisting of  a dosser  and  four  costers  worked 
with  the  arms  of  King  Edward  (his  father) 
and  his  sons  with  borders  paly  of  red  and 

326 


black  powdered  with  Bohun  swans  and 
the  arms  of  Hereford  ; a great  bed  of  gold, 
that  is  to  say  a coverlet,  tester,  and  selour 
of  fine  blue  satin  worked  with  gold  Garters, 
and  three  curtains  of  tartryn  beaten  with 
Garters  to  match  ; and  a large  bed  of  white 
satin  embroidered  in  the  midst  with  the 
arms  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  with  his 
helm,  in  Cyprus  gold. 

A number  of  other  items  in  the  list  are 
also  more  or  less  heraldic  : a bed  of  black 
baudekyn  powdered  with  white  roses ; a 
large  old  bed  of  green  tartryn  embroidered 
with  gold  griffins  ; twelve  pieces  of  tapestry 
carpet,  blue  with  white  roses  in  the  corners 
and  divers  arms : a large  bed  of  blue 

baudekyn  embroidered  with  silver  owls  and 
gold  fleurs-de-lis  ; fifteen  pieces  of  tapestry 
for  two  rooms  of  red  worsted  embroidered 
with  blue  Garters  of  worsted  with  helms 
and  arms  of  divers  sorts  ; three  curtains  of 
white  tartryn  with  green  popinjays;  a 
green  bed  of  double  samite  with  a blue 
pale  (stripe)  of  chamlet  embroidered  with 
a pot  of  gold  filled  with  divers  flowers  of 
silver;  an  old  bed  of  blue  worsted  embroi- 
dered with  a stag  of  yellow  worsted  ; a red 
bed  of  worsted  embroidered  with  a crowned 
lion  and  two  griffins  and  chaplets  and  roses  ; 

327 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


a bed  of  blue  worsted  embroidered  with  a 
white  eagle ; a coverlet  and  tester  of  red 
worsted  embroidered  with  a white  lion 
couching  under  a tree ; a single  gown  of 
blue  cloth  of  gold  of  Cyprus  powdered 
with  gold  stags ; and  a single  gown  of  red 
cloth  of  gold  of  Cyprus  with  mermaids. 

In  1381  William  lord  Latimer  leaves 
‘an  entire  vestment  or  suit  of  red  velvet 
embroidered  with  a cross  of  mine  arms/ 
and  in  1397  Sir  Ralph  Hastings  bequeathed 
‘a  vestment  of  red  cloth  of  gold  with 
orphreys  before  and  behind  ensigned  with 
maunches  and  with  colours  of  mine  arms/ 
which  were  a red  maunch  or  sleeve  on  a 
gold  ground. 

Among  the  chapel  stuff  of  Henry  Bowet 
archbishop  of  York,  in  1423,  were  a sudary 
or  veil  of  white  cloth  with  the  arms  of  the 
duke  of  Lancaster  on  the  ends,  and  two 
costers  or  curtains  of  red  embroidered  with 
great  white  roses  and  the  arms  of  St.  Peter 
(the  crossed  keys). 

In  1437  Helen  Welles  of  York  be- 
queathed a blue  tester  with  a couched  stag 
and  the  reason  Auxilium  meum  a Domino. 

In  1448  Thomas  Morton,  a canon  of 
York,  left  a hailing  with  two  costers  of 
green  and  red  say  paled  with  the  arms  of 
328 


archbishop  Bowet ; and  in  1449  the  in- 
ventory of  Dan  John  Clerk,  a York 
chaplain,  mentions  two  covers  of  red  say 
having  the  arms  of  Dan  Richard  Scrope 
and  the  keys  of  St.  Peter  worked  upon 
them. 

To  the  examples  worked  with  letters 
may  be  added  a bed  with  a carpet  of  red 
and  green  with  crowned  M’s,  left  about 
1440  by  a Beverley  mason,  who  also  had 
another  bed  with  a carpet  of  blue  and  green 
with  Katharine  wheels;  a vestment  left  in 
1467,  by  Robert  Est,  a chantry  priest  in 
York  Minster,  of  green  worsted  having 
on  the  back  two  crowned  letters,  namely 
R and  E;  and  a bequest  in  1520  by 
Thomas  duke  of  Norfolk  of  ‘our  great 
hangede  bedde  palyd  with  cloth  of  golde 
whyte  damask  and  black  velvet,  and 
browdered  with  these  two  letters  T.  A.,’ 
being  the  initials  of  himself  and  his  wife. 

There  is  of  course  nothing  to  hinder  at 
the  present  day  the  principles  embodied  in 
the  foregoing  examples,  which  could  easily 
be  extended  ad  infinitum,  { rom  being  carried 
out  in  the  same  delightful  way  ; and  a small 
exercise  of  ingenuity  would  soon  devise  a 
like  treatment  of  one’s  own  arms,  or  the 
use  of  a favourite  device  or  flower,  or  the 

329 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


Heraldic 

Embroi- 

deries 


setting  out  of  the  family  word,  reason,  or 
motto. 

The  medieval  passion  for  striped,  paned, 
or  checkered  hangings  might  also  be 
revived  with  advantage,  and  the  mention 
in  1391  of  ‘a  bed  of  white  and  murre)' 
unded,’  shows  that  waved  lines  were  as 
tolerable  as  straight. 


33° 


CHAPTER  XIII 
TUDOR  AND  LATER  HERALDRY 


Decorative  Heraldry  of  the  Reign  of  Henry 
VIII ; The  Decadent  Change  in  the  Quality  of 
Heraldry;  Examples  of  Elaborated  Arms ; Sur- 
vival of  Tradition  in  Heraldic  Art ; Elizabethan 
Heraldry  ; Heraldry  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 
and  Under  the  Commonwealth ; Post-Restora- 
tion Heraldry. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters  practically  noth- 
ing has  been  said  or  any  illustration  given  of 
heraldry  later  than  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII 
chiefly  because  little  that  is  artistic  can 
be  found  afterwards.  There  are  however 
certain  points  about  both  Elizabethan  and 
Stewart  heraldry  that  are  worthy  of  notice, 
especially  when  the  old  traditions  have  been 
followed. 

In  the  second  quarter  of  the  sixteenth 
century  decorative  heraldry  may  be  said  to 
have  reached  its  climax,  and  such  examples 
as  can  be  seen  at  Hengrave  Hall,  Hampton 
Court,  Athelhampton  House,  Cowdray 
House,  St.  George’s  chapel  in  Windsor 
Castle,  King’s  College  chapel  at  Cambridge, 

331 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


and  Henry  VII’s  Lady  chapel  at  West- 
minster, or  in  the  beautiful  panel  of 
Henry  VIII’s  arms  at  New  Hall  in  Essex 
(fig.  189),  are  quite  the  finest  of  their  kind. 
Then  comes  a falling  off,  and  though  spora- 
dic cases  in  continuation  of  tradition  may 
be  found,  with  the  advent  of  the  Renais- 
sance English  heraldry  underwent  a com- 
plete change. 

One  of  the  most  notable  differences 
between  the  older  and  the  later  heraldry  is 
in  the  quality  of  the  heraldry  itself. 

In  the  days  when  men  devised  arms  for 
themselves  these  were  characterized  by  a 
simplicity  that  held  its  own  all  through  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  and 
well  down  into  the  fifteenth  century.  But 
following  upon  a privilege  that  had  hitherto 
been  exercised  by  the  King  as  a mark  of 
special  honour,  and  in  some  rare  cases  even 
by  nobles,  the  heralds  than  began  to  assign 
arms  to  such  of  the  newly-rich  who  came 
to  the  front  after  the  Wars  of  the  Roses 
and  were  willing  to  pay  for  them.  Hence- 
forth the  artistic  aspect  of  heraldry  entered 
upon  a continuous  decadent  course. 

The  beginning  is  visible  in  the  extra- 
ordinary compositions  devised  and  granted 
to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  during 

332 


Fig.  189.  Carved  panel  with  the  crowned  arms,  supporters,  and 
badges  of  King  Henry  VIII  at  New  Hall  in  Essex, 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  Such  arms  as 
had  been  granted  by  Henry  VI  or  Ed- 
ward IV,  or  even  by  the  kings-of-arms  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  still  followed  ancient 


Fig.  190.  Paving  tile  with  arms  and  initials  of 
John  Lyte  (c.  1535),  from  Marten  church, 
Wilts. 

precedent,  but  the  Tudor  members  of  the 
newly  incorporated  Heralds’  College  seem 
to  have  struck  out  a line  for  themselves. 

A notable  example  is  furnished  by  the 
arms  devised  for  cardinal  Thomas  Wulcy. 
These,  in  token  of  his  Suffolk  or;gin,  have 

334 


for  basis  the  engrailed  cross  upon  a sable  Tudor  and 
field  of  the  Uffords  (to  whom  he  was  not 
related),  charged  with  the  leopards’  heads 
of  the  de  la  Poles  and  a lion  passant  (per- 
haps for  England) ; to  which  is  added  a 
gold  chief,  with  a red  Lancastrian  rose  and 
two  of  the  Cornish  choughs  from  the  post- 
humous arms  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury 
in  allusion  to  his  Christian  name  ! 

The  arms  granted  by  Christopher  Barker, 

Garter,  in  1536  to  the  city  of  Gloucester 
afford  another  example.  They  consist  of  the 
sword  of  state  of  the  city,  with  the  sword- 
bearer’s  cap  on  the  point,  set  upright  on  a 
gold  pale,  and  flanked  on  either  side  by  a 
silver  horseshoe  and  a triad  of  horsenails 
on  a green  field  ; there  is  also  (as  in  Wulcy’s 
arms)  a chief  party  gold  and  purple,  with 
the  silver  boar’s  head  of  Richard  III  (who 
granted  a charter  to  the  city)  between  the 
halves  of  a Lancastrian  red  rose  and  of  a 
Yorkist  white  rose,  each  dimidiated  with  a 
golden  sun  ! 

A reference  to  Bedford’s  Blazon  of  Epis- 
copacy will  show  that  the  arms  of  a con- 
siderable number  of  the  bishops  appointed 
during  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII  and 
Edward  VI  were  characterized  by  over- 
charged chiefs  like  those  just  described, 

335 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


and  these  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the 
arms  then  being  granted  by  the  kings-of- 
arms.  The  same  passion  for  crowding  the 
shield  is  seen  even  in  many  of  the  less 
elaborate  arms  that  were  occasionally 
granted. 

Things  did  not  improve  under  Mary  and 
Elizabeth.  Simple  arms  continued  to  be 
issued  from  the  College,  but  mixed  with 
such  extravagant  bursts  as  that  of  Laurence 
Dalton,  Norroy,  who  granted  in  January, 
1560-1  to  the  famous  physician  doctor 
John  Caius  these  arms  : 


Golde  semyd  wth  flowre  gentle  in  the 
myddle  of  the  cheyfe,  sengrene  resting 
uppon  the  heades  of  ij  serpentes  in  pale, 
their  tayles  knytte  to  gether,  all  in  proper 
color,  resting  uppon  a square  marble  stone 
vert,  betwene  theire  brestes  a boke  sable, 
garnyshed  gewles,  buckles  gold,  and  to 
his  crest  upon  thelme  a Dove  argent, 
bekyd  & membred  gewles,  holding  in 
his  beke  by  the  stalke,  flowre  gentle  in 
propre  color,  stalked  verte,  set  on  a 
wreth  golde  & gewles. 

This  precious  composition  is  further  de- 
scribed in  the  grant  as 

336 


betokening  by  the  boke  lerning : by  the 
ij  serpentes  resting  upon  the  square 
marble  stone,  wisdom  with  grace  founded 
& stayed  upon  vertues  stable  stone  : by 
sengrene  & flower  gentle,  immortality 
yl  never  shall  fade,  etc. 

The  way  in  which  matters  went  from  bad 
to  worse  is  shown  by  the  case  of  the  Com- 
pany of  ‘Barbours  & Chirurgeons’  of 
London,  to  whom  had  been  granted  in  1561 

paly  argent  and  vert,  on  a pale  gules  a 
lyon  passant  gardant  golde  betweene  two 
Spatters  argent  on  eche  a double  rose 
gules  and  argent  crowned  golde. 

The  united  genius  of  Garter,  Clarencieux, 
and  Norroy  ‘improved’  these  arms  in 
1569  into  : 

Quarterly  the  first  sables  a Cheveron 
betweene  three  flewmes  argent : the 

second  quarter  per  pale  argent  and  vert 
on  a Spatter  of  the  first,  a double  Rose 
gules  and  argent  crowned  golde : the 
third  quarter  as  the  seconde  and  the 
fourth  as  the  first : Over  all  on  a Crosse 
gules  a lyon  passant  gardant  golde. 

Such  compositions  as  these  could  not  but 

y 337 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


fail  to  bring  heraldry  into  contempt,  and 
men  soon  ceased  to  revel  in  and  play  with 
it  in  the  same  delightful  way  as  before. 
Here  and  there,  as  in  Sir  Thomas  Tresham’s 
market  house  at  Rothwell,  or  in  Sir  Henry 
Stafford's  great  mansion  of  Kirby  Hall, 
tradition  has  been  held  fast,  and  play  is 
made  upon  the  former  with  the  Tresham 
trefoils,  and  in  the  latter  with  Stafford 
knots  and  with  crests  treated  as  badges  in 
quite  the  old  style.  At  Kirby  Hall,  despite 
its  date  (1572-75),  and  at  Cadhay  in  Devon, 
sitting  figures  of  beasts  with  shields  of  arms 
were  set  upon  the  gables,  and  at  Kirby  upon 
the  pinnacles  that  surmounted  the  pilasters 
about  the  court.  A good  panel  with  the 
arms  and  badge  apparently  of  Sir  John 
Guldeford,  ob.  1565,  is  to  be  seen  in  East 
Guldeford  church,  Sussex  (fig.  191). 

A remarkably  fine  specimen  of  Eliza- 
bethan heraldic  decoration  is  also  to  be 
seen  in  the  great  chamber  of  Gilling  castle, 
Yorks.,  as  finished  by  Sir  William  Fairfax 
about  1585.  Here  the  beautiful  inlaid 
wall-panelling  is  surmounted  by  a frieze 
nearly  four  feet  deep,  painted  with  hunting 
scenes  and  a series  of  large  trees,  upon 
which  are  hung  according  to  wapentakes 
the  shields  of  arms  of  Yorkshire  gentlefolk. 

338 


The  chimney  piece  displays  the  armorial  Tudor  and 
ensigns  of  the  builder,  with  those  of  his 
Queen  above,  and  four  other  shields,  and 


Fig.  191.  Arms,  with  crested  helm  and  badge 
(a  blazing  ragged-staff  of,  apparently,  Sir 
John  Guldeford  of  Benenden,  ob.  1565,  in 
East  Guldeford  church,  Sussex. 

between  the  frettings  of  the  plaster  ceiling 
are  the  Fairfax  lions  and  goats,  and  the 
Stapleton  talbot.  The  rich  efFect  of  the 

339 


TuJor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


whole  is  completed  by  the  contemporary 
heraldic  glazing  with  which  the  windows 
happily  are  filled. 

But  in  Elizabethan  buildings  generally, 
heraldry  made  but  a poor  show.  Sup- 
porters and  other  creatures  had  descended 
from  the  gables  to  stand  or  squat  upon 
gateposts,  and  occasionally  a square  panel 
filled  with  heraldry  was  inset  above  a 
doorway  or  a porch  ; or  the  family  crest, 
divorced  from  its  helm,  was  carved  upon 
the  spandrels  of  the  entrance.  But  the 
former  glory  had  disappeared,  and  shields 
of  arms  were  often  replaced  by  initials  and 
dates  of  owners  and  builders,  presumably 
because  they  were  ‘ non-armigerous  per- 
sons.’ 

Within  doors  matters  were  somewhat 
better.  Such  gorgeous  rooms  as  the  great 
chamber  at  Gilling  were  quite  exceptional, 
and  heraldic  display  was  usually  confined 
to  the  elaborately  carved  overmantels  of 
the  chimneys,  which  served  as  a frame  for 
the  family  arms  and  crested  helm  with 
grand  flourishing  of  mantlings.  These 
were  often  repeated  upon  the  cast-iron  fire- 
backs.  I he  art  of  the  plasterer  was  ex- 
tended to  the  inclusion  of  crests  and  other 
devices  among  the  ornaments  of  the 

340 


moulded  ceilings,  and  the  glazier  continued 
to  fill  the  windows  with  beautiful  coloured 
shields  of  alliances.  Occasionally  too  the 
family  arms  were  woven  into  carpets  or 
table  covers  ; or  embroidered  by  the  ladies 
of  the  house  on  the  hangings  of  the  state 
bed,  within  charming  wreaths  of  flowers 
copied  from  those  in  the  garden  (fig.  192). 

The  monuments  of  the  dead  continue  as 
before  to  be  adorned  with  heraldry,  but  in 
a different  way,  and  for  the  beautiful  simple 
arms  and  devices  of  the  medieval  memorial 
began  to  be  substituted  the  concentrated 
shield  of  the  family  quarterings,  with  crest 
and  mantled  helm,  and  such  supporters  as 
the  College  of  Arms  allowed  or  approved. 

Despite  the  inevitable  consequent  for- 
mality, there  is  often  much  that  is  good 
about  the  treatment  of  Elizabethan  and 
Jacobean  heraldry,  and  it  would  not  be 
easy,  even  at  an  earlier  date,  to  beat  the 
delightful  lions  upon  the  shields  on  the 
Lennox  tomb  at  Westminster  (fig.  194),  or 
to  fill  up  more  satisfactorily  a shield  like 
that  above  the  monument  of  Sir  Ralph 
Pecksall  (fig.  195).  The  effective  way  in 
which  the  shield  itself  is  treated  in  this  case 
is  also  praiseworthy,  and  both  shields  are 
models  of  heraldic  carving  in  low  relief. 

341 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


Fig.  192.  Part  of  a bed-hanging  embroidered  with  the  arms 
of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  Wentworth,  c.  1560,  formerly  in 
the  possession  of  Sir  A.  W.  Franks,  K.C.B. 


The  Lennox  and  Pecksall  shields  are  Tudor  and 
likewise  indicative  of  another  characteristic 
change,  the  desire  to  illustrate  ancient  ‘ y 
descent  by  the  multiplication  of  quarter- 
ings.  The  disastrous  consequences  of  this 
practice,  even  in  the  fourteenth  and 


Fig.  193.  Arms  of  Cotes,  from  a 
mazer  print  of  1585-6. 

fifteenth  centuries,  have  already  been 
pointed  out,  but  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth 
it  was  carved  to  such  an  excess  as  to  pro- 
duce at  times  a mere  patchwork  of  carved 
or  painted  quarters,  in  which  the  beauty  of 
the  heraldry  was  entirely  lost.  In  the 
great  hall  of  Fawsley  House,  Northants, 
there  hangs  a coloured  achievement  of  the 
Knightley  family  containing  actually  334 

343 


BM 


Fig.  194.  Shield  from  the  tomb  of  Margaret  countess 
of  Lennox,  ob.  1578,  in  Westminster  abbey  church. 


Fig.  195.  Achievement  of  arms  from  the  monument  of 
Sir  Richard  Pecksall,  ob.  1571,  in  Westminster  abbey 
church. 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


quarterings,  which  have  been  rightly 
described  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Gotch  as  ‘330  too 
many  for  decorative  effect/ 

The  heraldry  of  the  seventeenth  century 
is  in  general  but  a duller  version  of  that  of 
the  later  sixteenth  century,  with  a tendency 
to  become  more  commonplace  as  time 
goes  on. 

Under  the  Commonwealth  every  vestige 
of  regality  was  ordered  to  be  put  down 
and  done  away;  a very  large  number  of 
representations  of  the  royal  arms  were  de- 
faced and  destroyed  ; and  the  leopards  of 
England  were  for  a time  ‘driven  into  the 
wilderness’  along  with  the  lion  of  Scotland. 
It  was  nevertheless  thought  desirable  that 
the  United  Kingdom  should  still  have  arms 
and  on  the  great  seale  of  England/ 

IN  THE  FIRST  YEARE  OF  FREEDOM  BY  GOD’S 

blessing  restored,  that  is  1648,  the  cross 
of  St.  George  appears  for  England,  and  a 
harp  for  Ireland.  The  royal  crown  was  at 
the  same  time  superseded,  on  all  maces 
and  other  symbols  of  kingly  power,  by  an- 
other which  curiously  reproduces  all  its 
elements.  It  had  a circlet  inscribed  the 

FREEDOM  OF  ENGLAND  BY  GOD’s  BLESSING 
restored,  with  the  date,  and  for  the  crest- 
ing of  crosses  and  fleurs-de-lis  there  was 

346 


substituted  an  intertwined  cable  enclosing 
small  cartouches  with  the  cross  of  St. 
George  and  the  Irish  harp.  The  new 
crown  was  also  arched  over,  with  four 
graceful  incurved  members  like  ostrich 
feathers,  but  wrought  with  oak  leaves  and 
acorns.  These  supported  a pyramidal 
group  of  four  handsome  cartouches  with 
the  cross  and  harp  surrounded  by  an  acorn, 
instead  of  the  orb  and  cross.*  Perfect 
examples  of  this  singular  republican  crown 
still  surmount  the  two  maces  of  the  town 
of  Weymouth. 

On  the  obverse  of  the  new  great  seal  of 
the  Commonwealth,  designed  and  engraved 
by  Simon  and  first  used  in  1655,  the  field 
is  filled  with  an  heraldic  achievement  of 
some  interest  (fig.  196).  This  includes  a 
shield  with  the  cross  of  St.  George  in  the 
first  and  fourth  quarters,  St.  Andrew’s  cross 
in  the  second  quarter,  and  the  Irish  harp  in 
the  third  quarter,  with  the  lion  of  Cromwell 
on  the  scutcheon  of  pretence.  This  shield  of 
the  State’s  arms  is  supported  by  a lion  with 
a ro}^al  crown  on  his  head,  and  by  a dragon, 

* A curious  variant  of  this  crown,  with  a jewelled 
instead  of  an  inscribed  band,  heads  a drawing  of  the 
city  arms  of  the  date  1651  in  the  Dormant  Book  of 
the  corporation  of  Carlisle. 


T udor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


347 


Fig.  196.  Obverse  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Republic 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  1655. 


Fig.  197.  Arms,  etc.  of  the  Trinity  House,  London.  From  a wood 
carving  c.  1670  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


4*/ 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


standing  upon  the  edge  of  a ribbon  with 
the  motto  pax  qvjeritvr  bello,  and  is 
surmounted  by  a front-faced  helm  with 
much  flourished  mantling,  with  a royal 
crown  and  the  crowned  leopard  crest  above, 
set  athwart  the  helm. 

The  seal  furnishes  an  excellent  illustra- 
tion of  the  heraldic  art  of  the  period,  but 
it  is  singular  that  under  a Nonconformist 
domination  the  arms  selected  for  England 
and  Scotland  should  consist  of  the  crosses 
of  their  patron  saints,  it  is  also  interest- 
ing to  note  that  the  expunged  arms  of 
England  and  Scotland  had  evidently  been 
regarded  rightly  as  personal  to  the 
murdered  King.  A further  curious  point 
is  the  reappearance  on  the  seal  of  the  royal 
crown  of  England  above  the  helm  and  on 
the  leopard  crest  and  the  lion  supporter. 

On  the  reverse  of  the  seal  just  noted 
the  State’s  new  arms  are  repeated  on  a 
cartouche  behind  the  equestrian  figure  of 
the  Protector. 

Of  the  heraldry  of  the  Restoration  and 
later  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  make  men- 
tion, so  lifeless  and  dull  is  the  generality 
of  it.  A good  specimen  c.  1670  with  the 
arms  of  the  Trinity  House  (fig.  197), 
and  a later  one  (fig.  198)  with  the  arms, 
350 


etc.  of  the  Trevor  family,  are  to  be  Tudor  and 
seen  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum.  ^ater 
Reference  is  due,  too,  to  one  other  notable  era  ry 


Fig.  198.  Limewood  carving  with  the  arms  and  crest  of 
the  Trevor  family,  c.  1700,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum. 


351 


Fig.  199.  Part  of  the  carved  oak  ceiling  of  the  chapel, 
formerly  the  hall,  of  Auckland  castle,  Durham,  with 
the  arms  of  bishop  John  Cosin.  Date,  1662-4. 


example.  This  is  the  beautiful  panelled 
ceiling  set  up  over  the  chapel  (formerly  the 
great  hall)  of  Auckland  castle,  by  doctor 
John  Cosin  bishop  of  Durham  (fig.  199). 
It  was  in  making  from  1662  to  1664,  by 
a local  carpenter,  and  consists  for  the  most 
part  of  a series  of  square  panels  containing 
alternately  the  cross  and  four  lions  that 
form  the  arms  of  the  bishopric  of  Durham, 
and  the  fret  forming  the  arms  of  Cosin. 
In  the  middle  bay  the  bishops’  arms  are 
given  in  an  oval,  and  flanked  by  similar 
ovals  with  the  eagle  of  St.  John  in  allusion 
to  his  name.  No  earlier  wooden  ceiling 
could  be  finer  in  conception,  and  the  effect 
of  the  whole  was  originally  enhanced  by 
colour  and  gilding,  but  this  was  most 
unhappily  removed  by  order  of  bishop 
Barrington  (1791-1826). 

With  so  notable  a late  survival  of 
medieval  tradition  this  book  may  fitly  end. 


Tudor  and 
later 
Heraldry 


z 


353 


CHRONOLOGICAL  SERIES  OF 
ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  following  series  of  illustrations  is  an  attempt 
to  gather  up  into  chronological  order  such  of  the 
more  typical  examples  in  this  book  as  serve  to 
show  the  development  and  various  applications  of 
heraldic  art  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  series  could,  of  course,  have  been 
extended  indefinitely,  but  the  present  collection  is 
probably  sufficient  for  its  purpose. 


C.  1255 


c.  1259 

Tiles  c.  1255  from  the  chapter-house  and  shield  c.  1259 
from  the  quire  aisle  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


Shields  c.  1259  from  the  quire  aisles  of  Westminster  abbey 
church. 


356 


357 


The  Syon  Cope,  a late  thirteenth  century  work  with  armorial  orphrey  and 
border,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


Quartered  shield  of  Queen  Eleanor  of  Castile,  from  her 
tomb  at  Westminster,  1291. 


358 


359 


.’'.■I'S'V 


Diapered  shield  from  the  monument  of  the  lady 
Eleanor  Percy  ( ob . 133 7)  in  Beverley  Minster. 


360 


Diapered  shield  from  the  monument  of  the  lady 
Eleanor  Percy  ( ob . 1337)  in  Beverley  Minster. 


361 


Shield  of  the  arms  of  Sir  Humphrey  Littlebury,  from  his 
effigy  at  Holbeach  in  Lincolnshire;  c.  1360. 


362 


Kent,  and  at  Salisbury,  1375. 


Shield  modelled  in  boiled  leather,  from  the  tomb  of 
Edward  prince  of  Wales,  ob.  1376,  at  Canterbury. 


364 


Shield  and  crested  helm  with  simple  mantling  from 
a brass  at  Southacre,  Norfolk,  1384. 


365 


Stall-plate  of  Ralph  lord  Bassett,  1390,  showing  simple  form  of 
mantling. 


Shields  from  brasses  at  Chipping  Camden,  Gloucs.  1401,  and  Great  Tew,  Oxon,  1410. 


369 


Arms  of  St.  Edmund  the  King  and  St.  Edward  the  Confessor,  from  the  tomb 
of  Edmund  duke  of  York,  ob.  1402,  at  King’s  Langley. 


Seal  of  Richard  Beauchamp  earl  of  Warwick,  in  1403,  and  early 
fifteenth  century  heraldic  tiles  from  Tewkesbury  abbey  church. 


370 


371 


Shields  from  brasses  at  Checkendon,  Oxori,  1404,  and  Boughton-under-Blean,  Kent,  1405. 


Shields  from  brasses  at  Kidderminster,  Wore.  1415,  and  Whitchurch,  Oxon,  c.  1420. 


Part  of  the  chancel  arcade  in  Wingfield  church,  Suffolk,  with  badges  of 
Michael  de  la  Pole  earl  of  Suffolk,  ob.  1415,  and  his  wife  Katherine 
Stafford. 


373 


Stall-plate  of  Walter  lord  Hungerford,  after  1426. 


374 


Stall-plate  of  Humphrey  duke  of  Buckingham  as 
Earl  of  Stafford,  c.  1429. 


375 


Tomb  of  Lewis  Robsart  lord  Bourchier,  ob.  1431,  in 
Westminster  abbey  church. 


« 


376 


Banner  stall-plate  of  Richard  Nevill  earl  of  Salisbury,  c.  1436. 


377 


* 


Spandrel  of  the  tomb  of  Oliver  Groos,  Esq.,  ob.  1439,  in  Sloley 
church,  Norfolk. 


379 


-1-1— 


Print  from  a mazer  at  All  Souls  college,  Oxford, 
c.  1450,  and  shield  from  a brass  at  Stanford 
Dingley,  Berks,  1444. 

381 


Seals  of  Edmund  duke  of  Somerset,  c.  1445,  and 
John  Tiptoft  earl  of  Worcester,  1449. 

382 


Seal  of  Cecily  Nevill,  wife  of  Richard  duke  of  York  and 
mother  of  King  Edward  IV,  1461. 


383 


c.  1476 

Shields  from  the  chantry  chapel  of  Thomas 
Ramryge  abbot  of  St.  Albans,  c.  1500,  and 
from  a brass  at  Stoke  Poges,  Bricks,  1476. 


384 


Oriel  window  in  the  deanery  at  Wells,  with  badges  of  King 
Edward  IV  and  rebuses  of  Dean  Gunthorpe,  c.  1475-80. 


385 


3§7 


Chimney-piece  in  the  Bishop’s  Palace  at  Exeter,  with  arms  and  badges  of  Bishop  Peter  Courtenay,  1478  87* 


~V'~/r 


388 


Gateway  to  the  Deanery  at  Peterborough  with  arms  and  badges  of  K 
and  others,  built  by  Robert  Kirkton,  abbot  1497-1526. 


Heraldic  candle-holder,  etc.  from  the  bronze  grate  about 
the  tomb  of  King  Henry  VII  at  Westminster. 


—M 


Bronze  door  with  York  and  Beaufort  badges  from  Henry 
VII’s  chapel  at  Westminster. 


390 


391 


Crowned  initials  of  King  Henry  VII  from  his  chapel  at  Westminster  and  crowned  portcullis  and 
rose  from  King’s  college  chapel  at  Cambridge. 


Crowned  arms  and  supporters  of.  King  Henry  VII 
in  King’s  college  chapel  at  Cambridge. 


392 


£*raritus  art  urawas.wf 


g>f  ' . 

• 

■ 

if*”":";:  i 

Carved  panel  with  the  crowned  arms,  supporters,  and  badges 
of  King  Henry  VIII  at  New  Hall,  Essex. 


393 


Gatehouse  of  Christ’s  college  at  Cambridge  built  by  the 
lady  Margaret  Beaufort  after  1505- 


394 


395 


Base  of  an  oriel  on  the  master’s  lodge  at  Christ’s  college  in  Cambridge  with  the  armorial  ensigns 
of  the  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  foundress,  c.  1505. 


396 


Armorial  panel  with  the  arms,  etc.  of  the  lady  Margaret  Beaufort,  on  the  gatehouse  of 
St.  John’s  college  in  Cambridge. 


397 


Head  of  a doorway,  now  in  Norwich  Guildhall,  temp.  King  Henry  VIII. 


399 


Arms,  with  crested  helm  and  badge  of 
(apparently)  Sir  John  Guldeford  of 
Benenden,  ob.  1565,  in  East  Guldeford 
church,  Sussex. 


2 C 


401 


Armorial  ensigns  from  the  monument  of  Sir  Richard 
Pecksall,  ob.  1571,  in  Westminster  abbey  church. 


402 


Shield  from  the  tomb  of  Margaret  countess  of  Lennox, 
ob.  1578,  in  Westminster  abbey  church. 


403 


Obverse  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Republic  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  1655. 


404 


Part  of  the  carved  oak  ceiling  of  the  chapel  of  Auck- 
land castle,  Durham,  with  the  arms  of  bishop  John 
Cosin.  Date,  1662-4. 


40s 


Arms,  etc.  of  the  Trinity  House,  London.  From  a wood  carving 
c.  1670  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


406 


: ^ r5"’ 


Limewood  carving  with  the  arms  and  crest  of  the  Trevor 
family,  1700,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


407 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Academy,  Royal,  heraldry  at 
exhibitions,  33 

Acton  church  (Suffolk),  brass  in, 
252 

Africa,  South,  269 

Albans,  Saint,  54,  164,  259,  281 ; 

abbey  church  of,  73,  74 
Albemarle,  Richard  earl  of,  see 
Beauchamp;  William  earl  of, 
see  Forz 

Albert  Medal  for  Bravery,  265 
Aldeburgh  arms,  326 
Aldeburgh,  Margaret,  326;  Sir 
William,  326 

Alderby,  John  of,  bp.  of  Lincoln, 
322 

Aldermaston  (Berks),  306 
Alen,  Sir  John,  307,  308 
Alexandra,  Queen,  banner  of, 
228 

Alexandria,  rubies  of,  275,  290 
Alnwick,  William,  bp.  of  Nor- 
wich, 264 

Andrew,  saint,  cross  or  saltire 
of,  40,  225,  248,  249 
Angouleme,  arms  of,  119 
Anne  of  Bohemia,  Queen,  89, 
172,  185,  324 
.Alnstis,  John,  309 
Anthony,  cross  of  saint,  50 
Antiquaries,  Society  of,  233 
Aquitaine,  duchy  of,  154 
Arms,  rolls  of,  62 
Arundel  (Sussex),  effigy  at,  277, 
279 


Arundel,  Beatrice  countess  of, 
278 ; Edmund  earl  of,  see  Fitz- 
Alan;  Joan  countess  of,  279, 
280;  Richard  earl  of,  see  Fitz- 
Alan;  Thomas  earl  of,  273, 
277;  Sir  Edmund  of,  1 1 8 ; Sir 
William,  144,  145;  William 
earl  of,  see  FitzAlan 
Ashmole,  Elias,  224 
Astley,  Sir  John,  13 1 
Aston  (Warw),  effigy  at,  305 
Athelhampton  House  (Dorset), 
33i 

Auckland  castle  (Durham), 
ceiling  in,  352,  353 
Aveline,  countess  of  Lancaster, 
120 

Badges,  165-184 
Badlesmere,  Bartholomew,  1 17 ; 

Maud,  1 1 7,  1 18 
Baliol  arms,  326 
Ballard  arms,  61 
Banastre,  Sir  Thomas,  141 
Banner,  the  King’s,  219,  220, 
226,  227,  228 

Banners  of  arms,  216,  217,  219- 
233 

Bar,  the,  40 

Barbours  and  Chirurgeons, 
Company  of,  337 
Bardolf,  Hugh,  seal  of,  68; 

William  lord,  see  Phelip 
Baret,  John,  303 
Barker,  Christopher,  Garter,  335 


411 


TnrlpY  Barons’  Letter  of  1 300-1,  49, 
68,69,77,82,  1 12,  1 13,  124, 
125,  126,  172,  181,  195 
Barre,  Henry  count  of,  113; 

Joan  dau.  of,  113 
Barrington,  bishop,  353 
Barron,  Mr.  Oswald,  52 
Barry,  43 ; number  of  bars, 
48 

Bartholomew,  hospital  of  Saint, 
arms,  48 

Basing  House  (Hants),  285 
Bassett,  Ralph  lord,  112,  140, 
142 

Baston,  the,  44 

Bath,  collar  of  the,  293 ; Order 
of  the,  253 

Bath  and  Wells,  Thomas  bp.  of, 
see  Beckington 
Batour,  John,  199 
Battled,  45 

Baunton  (Glos),  frontal  at,  320 
Bayeux,  seal  for  town  of,  205, 
210 

Beatrice  countess  of  Arundel, 
278 

Beauchamp  arms,  51,  58,  63, 
97;  badges,  58,  96,  184; 

family,  103 

Beauchamp,  Henry,  earl  of 
Warwick,  272;  John,  of 
Hacche,  197;  Margaret,  96, 
214;  Richard,  earl  of  War- 
wick and  Albemarle,  61,  96, 
144,  146,  204,  208,  209,  214, 
221,  274,  276;  Thomas,  earl 
of  Warwick,  175,  198 
t Beaufort,  Edmund,  duke  of 
Somerset,  205,  210;  Henry, 
bp.  of  Winchester,  164;  Joan, 
countessofWestmorland,  278, 
282;  John,  duke  of  Somerset 
and  earl  of  Kendal,  206,  23 1 ; 

412 


the  lady  Margaret,  184,  209, 
286-288 

Beaufort  portcullis,  169,*  288, 

304 

Beaumont,  John  lord,  141 ; 
Margaret,  217 

Beckington,  Thomas,  bp.  of 
Bath  and  Wells, rebus  of,  188, 
191 

Bedale  (Yorks),  effigy  at,  73 
Bedford,  Jasper,  duke  of,  see 
Jasper 

Bedford,  John  duke  of,  see 
John 

Bedford’s  Blazon  of  Episcopacy , 
335 

Bek,  Antony,  bp.  of  Durham, 
arms  of,  50 

Bend,  the,  40,  41 ; Bendy,  44 
Benenden  (Kent),  339 
Bensted  arms,  114 
Bensted,  Sir  John,  114;  Parnell, 
114 

Bentley, Little  (Essex),  brass  at, 
306 

Berkeley  arms,  51,  63;  badge, 
184;  mermaid  collar,  310, 

3 1 1 

Berkeley,  Thomas  of,  125; 

Thomas  lord,  309,  310 
Bermingham,  Walter,  117 
Berners  arms,  97 
Beverley  (Yorks),  329;  waits’ 
collars,  313 

Beverley  minster,  heraldry  in, 
54,  106,  107,  108 
Bigod,  Sir  John,  299 
Boar,  silver,  of  King  Richard 
III,  304 

Bohemia,  Anne  of,  see  Anne 
Bohun,  Eleanor,  172,  214,  323; 
Humphrey,  earl  of  Hereford 
and  Essex,  172,  193,  194,  196, 


274;  J°hn  de,  earl  of  Here- 
ford, 1 15  ; Mary,  92,  172,  298 
Bohunof  Hereford,  arms  of, 
96;  of  Northampton,  arms 
of,  96 

Bohun  swan  badge,  172,  184, 
196,  214,  298,  327 
Bordeaux,  John  seneschal  of, 
see  Nevill 
Border,  the,  41 
Boroughbridge  Roll,  62 
Botreaux,  Margaret  lady  of,  see 
Hungerford ; William  lord, 
203,  217 

Boughton-under-Blean  (Kent) 
brass  at,  81 

Bourchier  arms,  the,  97;  knot, 
184-186, 188;  water-bougets, 
182 

Bourchier,  Henry,  earl  of  Essex, 
188;  Henry  lord,  158;  Hugh 
lord,  see  Stafford ; John  lord, 
143,  158;  Lewis  lord,  see 
Robsart;  Sir  Humphrey,  97, 
186 ; Thomas,  abp.  of  Canter- 
bury, 186 

Boutell,  Rev.  C.,  157 
Bowet,  Henry,  abp.  of  York, 
328,  329 

Brabant,  arms  of,  119 
Brancepeth  (Durham),  effigies 
at,  304 

Brandon,  Frances,  duchess  of 
Suffolk,  1 10 

Braose,  William  de,  112 
Bristol  waits’  collars,  313 
British  Museum,  53,  261,  262, 

'304 

Bromfleet,  Sir  Thomas,  arms 
of,  82 

Brooke,  George,  lord  Cobham, 
133 

Broom-cods,  collar  of,  309 


Brotherton,  see  Thomas 
Bryen,  arms  of,  252 
Bryen,  Guy  lord,  73,  74,  196 
Buch,  the  Captal  de,  141 
Buckingham,  duke  and  earl  of, 
see  Stafford ; Henry  duke  of, 
96,  98 

Buckingham,  earldom  of,  arms 
of,  96 

Buckingham  Palace,  memorial 
in  front  of,  34 

Bullen,  Thomas,  earl  of  Wilt- 
shire and  Ormond,  267 
Bures,  arms  of,  252 
Burgh,  John  of,  114;  Sir 
Thomas,  stall-plate  of,  136: 
William  of,  earl  of  Ulster, 

11 7,  1 19 

Burghersh,  barony  of,  200;  Sir 
Bartholomew,  198 
Burlington  House,  see  London 
Burnell,  Hugh  lord,  141,  149 
Burnham  Thorpe  (Norfolk), 
brass  at,  296 

Burton,  Thomas,  bp.  of  Exeter, 
322 

Bury  St.  Edmunds,  St.  Mary’s 
church  at,  303 

Cadhay  (Devon),  338 
Caius,  doctor  John,  336 
Calais,  arms  of,  215:  seal  of 
mayoralty  of,  214,  215 
Calthorpe,  Sir  William,  296 
Cambridge,  arms  of  regius  pro- 
fessors, 253  ; rebus  on  name, 
189 

Cambridge,  Christ’s  college, 
179,  286,  287,  288;  King’s 
college  chapel,  170,  181,  210, 
213,  331;  Pembroke  college, 
252;  St.  John’s  college,  18 1, 
288,  289 


Index 


413 


Tnrlev  Camoys,  lady,  brass  of,  296; 

Thomas  lord,  261,  263; 

arms  of,  264 

Candle-holder,  heraldic,  55 
Canterbury,  61,  84,  101,  102, 
132,  134,  166,  167,  168,  186, 
260,  270,  271,  290,  291,  300, 
303,  335 

Canterbury,  Christchurch,  120, 
321 

Canterbury,  John  abp.  of,  see 
Morton ; Thomas  abp.  of,  see 
Bourchier;  William  abp.  of, 
see  Courtenay;  William 
archdn.  of,  see  Pakington 
Cap  of  estate,  the,  154 
Carlisle  Dormant  book,  347 
Carnarvon,  Edward  of,  ill 
Castile,  arms  of,  86,  1 1 1 ; castle 
of,  1 14;  kingdom  of,  112 
Castile  and  Leon,  castles  and 
lions  of,  1 14 

Chamberlayne,  Sir  William, 158 
Charles  IV,  Emperor,  89 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  arms  of,  48 
Chaworth,  arms  of,  117 
Checkendon  (Oxon),  brass  at, 
256 

Cheeky,  44 ; numberof  checkers, 
49 

Chester,  arms  of,  135;  sheriff’s 
chain,  315 

Chester,  Edward  earl  of,  see 
Edward  prince  of  Wales 
Chevaler  au  ring,  171 
Cheveron,  the,  41,  42 
Cheyney,  Sir  John,  306 
Chief,  the,  41,  42 
Chipping  Campden  (Glos), 
brass  at,  90 

Chronological  series  of  illus- 
trations, 354-407 
Cinque  Ports,  arms  of  the,  135 

414 


Clare  arms,  114,  115,  117,  199; 
black  bulls  of,  204,  207 ; label 
of,  101 

Clare,  Elizabeth  de,  114;  Gil- 
bert de,  earl  of  Gloucester, 
1 14,  194 

Clarence,  duke  of,  see  Lionel; 
George  duke  of,  see  George; 
Thomas  duke  of,  see  Thomas 
Clehonger  (Heref),  76 
Clerk,  Dan  John,  329 
Clifford,  Robert  de,  171 
Clopton  arms,  45,  46 
Clun,  arms  of,  106 
Cobham  (Kent),  133,  134 
Cobham,  George  Brooke,  lord, 
1 33,  134;  Raynald,  lord, 

141 

Cockermouth, Henry  Percy, lord 
of,  see  Percy 
Colchester,  arms  of,  50 
College  of  Arms,  see  Heralds’ 
College 

Colley,  Thomas  de,  325 
Constance,  brass  at,  263,  265 
Constance  of  Castile,  1 1 1 
Corfe  castle,  Dorset,  69 
Cornwall,  earl  of,  see  Richard; 
Edmund  earl  of,  194;  Edward 
duke  of,  see  Edward  prince  of 
Wales 

Coronets,  introduction  and  his- 
tory of,  271-285 
Cosin  arms,  353 
Cosin,  John,  bp.  of  Durham, 
352,  353 

Cotes,  arms  of,  343 
Cotises,  45 
Counter-coloured,  48 
Courtenay  dolphin,  182 
Courtenay,  Hugh,  earl  of 
Devon,  116;  Peter,  bp.  of 
Exeter,  175,  177;  Sir  Peter, 


229;  William,  abp.  of  Can- 
terbury, 162 
Coventry  cross,  242 
Cowdray  House,  Sussex,  239, 
33 1 

Crests,  origin  and  treatment  of, 
123  ; use  of,  by  bishops,  161- 
163 

Cromwell  lion,  347 
Cromwell,  Ralph  lord,  57 
Cross,  the,  40;  varieties  of,  49, 
SO 

Crosslets,  51 

Crowns,  heraldic,  148-153 
Crusily,  51 

Cyprus  gold,  327,  328 

D’Abernoun,  Sir  John,  235 
Dabrichecourt,Sir  Sanchet,  140, 
143 

Dalton,  Laurence,  Norroy,  336 
D’Amory,  Roger  lord,  114 
Daunce,  the,  45 
David,  King  of  Scotland,  325 
Dennington  (Suffolk),  60,  297 
Derby, Henry  earl  of, see  Henry ; 

Thomas  earl  of,  see  Stanley 
Despenser  arms,  63,  88 
Despenser,  Henry  le,  bp.  of 
Norwich,  161,  162;  Richard 
lord,  see  Beauchamp ; Thomas 
lord,  199 

Devon,  Hugh  earl  of,  see  Court- 
enay 

Deynelay,  Robert,  129 
Diapering,  105-108 
Differencing  of  arms,  98-103 
Efimidiation,  251 
Dorking,  Rev.  E.  E.,  rebus  of, 
192 

Dorset  (county  of),  59 
Dover  (Kent),  arms  of,  135 
Dreux  arms,  119 


Dublin,  Richard  marquess  of,  Tnrlpv 
see  Oxford 

Durham,  arms  of  bishopric  of, 

353  J bishops  of,  163 
Durham,  Cuthbert  bp.  of,  see 
Tunstall;  John  bp.  of,  see 
Cosin,  Fordham ; Robert  bp. 
of,  see  Nevill;  Thomas  bp. 
of,  see  Hatfield,  Langley; 

Walter  bp.  of,  see  Skirlaw 

Easton,  Little  (Essex),  188 
Edmund  earl  of  Kent,  99;  earl 
of  Lancaster,  100 
Edmund  of  Langley  duke  of 
York,  94,  101,  150,  155,  1 67, 

199,  206,  229 

Edmund,  saint,  arms  of,  150 
Edward  I,  King, 86, 99, 100, 101, 

1 13,  114,  23 7 

Edward  II,  King,  47,  86,  99, 

1 15,  291,  293 

Edward  III,  King,  61,  88,  92, 

101,  125,  154,  155,  214,  215, 

263,  272,  323,  324,  325,  326 
Edward  IV,  King,  75,  168,  190, 

208,  212,  222,  225,  291,  304, 

334 

Edward  V,  King,  200 
Edward  VI,  King,  272,  335 
Edward  prince  of  Wales,  61,  84, 

99,  101,  102,  132,  134,  155, 

166,  167,  260,  261,  262,  271 
Edward,  saint,  arms  of,  37,  50, 

89,  94,  323 

Eleanor,  daughter  of  King 
Edward  I,  113 

Eleanor  of  Castile,  Queen,  71, 

86,91,  1 13,  1 14,  170,  270,  323 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  224,  225,  336 
Elsefield,  Elizabeth,  1 1 8 ; Sir 
Gilbert,  118 

Elsing  (Norf),  brass  at,  100, 157 

415 


Index 


Eltham,  John  of,  see  John 
Embroideries,  heraldic, 3 19-330 
Engayn,  John,  127 
England,  59,248,  249,335  ; arms 
of,  88,  89,  99,  hi,  1 13, 
115,  35°;  leopards  of,  217, 
226,  346;  lion  supporter  of, 
206 

England,  King  of,  79,  322,  323  ; 

supporters  of,  206 
Engrailing,  44 

Erdington  family,  knight  of, 
305,  312 
Ermine,  39,  258 
Erpingham,  Sir  Thomas,  144 
Essex,  earl  of,  see  Stafford 
Humphrey;  Henry  earl  of, 
see  Bourchier;  Humphrey 
earl  of,  see  Bohun 
Essex,  earldom  of,  arms  of,  193 
Est,  Robert,  329 
Esturmy,  Henry,  see  Sturmy 
Etchingham  church  (Sussex), 
239,  240 

Etchingham,  Sir  William,  239 
Eton  College  arms,  47 
Ewelme  (Oxon),  effigy  at,  283, 
284 

Exeter,  bishop’s  palace  at,  175, 
177;  brass  at,  185;  sheriff’s 
chain,  312;  waits’  collars, 3 13, 
3H 

Exeter, duchess  of,  283  ; Edward 
bp.  of,  see  Stafford;  Peter 
bishop  of,  321 ; Peter  bp.  of, 
see  Courtenay;  Thomas  bp. of, 
see  Burton ; Thomas  duke  of, 
see  Holand ; Thomas  duke  of, 
see  Thomas 

Fairfax  lions  and  goats,  339 
Fairfax,  Sir  William,  338 
Falstaff,  Sir  John,  203 

4l6 


Farnham,  Sir  Robert,  arms  of, 
48 

Fauconberg,  William  lord,  229 
Fawsley  House  (Northants), 
343 

Felbrigge  (Norf),  brass  at,  78, 

89. 

Felbrigge,  Sir  Simon,  158,  160 
Fer-de-moline,  47,  50 
Ferrers,  Thomas  earl,  see 
Thomas;  William  de,  197 
Fesse,  the,  40 

Fetterlock-and-falcon  badge, 
168,  169 

Firedogs,  heraldic,  56 
FitzAlan,  Alice,  273,  274; 

Brian,  arms,  73 ; Edmund, 
earl  of  Arundel,  118;  Joan, 
196,  273,  274 ; Richard,  earl  of 
Arundel,  1 15,  273,  275  ; Wil- 
liam, earl  of  Arundel,  279 
FitzAlan,  arms,  116,  1 1 7 ; oak- 
leaf  badge,  305 
FitzGerald,  Emmeline,  217 
FitzHamon,  Robert,  arms  of, 

63 

FitzHugh,  Henry  lord,  229 
FitzHugh  and  Marmion,  Wil- 
liam lord,  215 
Fitzjohn,  John,  114 
FitzPain,  Robert,  112 
FitzWalter  arms,  45 
FitzWalter,  Walter  lord,  129 
FitzWarin  seal,  196 
FitzWaryn,  Sir  William,  141 
Flanches,  42 
Foljambe  arms,  119 
Foljambe,  Roger,  118 
Fordham,  John,  bp.  of  Durham, 
163 

Forster,  Sir  George,  306 
Forz,  William  of,  earl  of  Albe- 
marle, 120 


Fotheringay  church  (North- 
ants),  239 

FranceandNormandy,  Richard, 
governor  of,  see  Richard 
France,  arms  of,  88,  115,  119, 
120,  224,  322,  323,  324;  label 
of,  100 

France,  John  marshal  of,  see 
Talbot;  John,  regent  of,  see 
John 

France,  King  of,  80,  85,  154 
France,  Old,  arms  of,  89 
France,  Philip  King  of,  322 
Franks,  Sir  A.  W.,  342 
Furnival,  Thomas,  112 

Garter,  collar  of  the,  281,  293, 
295  ; mantle  of  the,  280,  2»i ; 
Order  of  the,  253,  260,  261 
Garter,  Knights  of  the,  banners 
of,  224,  223,  228 ; stall-plates 
of,  62,  70,  1 12,  130,  138,  15 1, 

2297259  * 

Garter,  the,  260-267 
Gaunt,  see  John  of 
Gemell-bars,  45 

George  duke  of  Clarence  and 
lord  of  Richmond,  203,  204, 
207,  229 

George,  saint,  arms  or  cross  of, 
49,  226,  234,  235,  248,  249, 
267,  346,  347 

Gilling  castle  (Yorks),. 338,  340 
Glamorgan,  lordship  of,  200 
Glass,  heraldic,  54 
Glastonbury,  George  inn  at,  74, 
75 

Gloucester,  city  of,  298 ; arms, 
335  ; effigy  at,  293 
Gloucester,  dukeof,  j<?<?Thomas ; 
Gilbert  earl  of,  see  Clare; 
Richard  duke  of,  59 
Gobony,  83 


Goldsmiths’  Company, arms,  72 
Goldwell,  James,  bp.  of  Nor- 
wich, 162,  191 
Gonvile  arms,  45 
Gotch,  Mr.  J.  A.,  346 
Gower,  John,  298 
Grapenell,  H.  de,  114;  Parnel, 
114 

Graunson,  Katharine,  1 17 ; 
Margaret,  196 

Grevel,  William,  brass  of,  90 
Grey,  lady  Jane,  285 
Grey  of  Codnor,  Richard  lord, 
15 1,  153,  182,  183 
Grey  of  Ruthin,  Sir  John,  229, 
232 

Groos,  Oliver,  301 
Guienne,  duchy  of,  155 
Guildford  (Surrey)  mayor’s 
chain  and  medal,  315 
Guldeford,  East  (Sussex),  338, 
339 

Guldeford,  Sir  John,  338,  339 
Gunthorpe,  dean,  74,  190,  192 
Gyronny,  41 

Hainault,  arms  of,  323  ; house 
of,  166 

Hales,  Sir  Stephen,  129 
Hallam,  Robert,  bp.  of  Salis- 
bury, 263,  265 
Halle,  Peter,  brass  of,  93 
Halving  of  arms,  251 
Hamlake,  see  Roos 
Hampton  Court,  331 ; heraldry 
at,  243-248 

Harcourt,  Sir  Robert,  305 
Harewell,  bishop,  effigy  of,  192 
Harsick  brass  at  Southacre,  158, 
!5? 

Hastings  arms,  117 
Hastings,  John,  earl  of  Pem- 
broke, 275;  John  lord,  1 17 ; 

417 


2D 


Index 


Index 


Sir  Hugh,  arms,  brass,  and 
crest  of,  ioo,  157;  Sir  Ralph, 
174,328;  William  lord,  140, 
204 

Hatfield,  Thomas,  bp.  of  Dur- 
ham, 163 

Hatfield  Broadoak  (Essex), 
effigy  at,  104,  106 
Hearne,  T.,  242 
Helmsley,  see  Ross 
Hengrave  Hall  (Suffolk),  331 
Henry  III,  King,  36,  99,  170, 
291,  292 

Henry  IV,  King,  92,  168,  172, 
200,  270,  290,  291,  297,  298, 
299,  300 

Henry  V,  King,  302,  309 
Henry  VI,  King,  47,  264,  272, 
309,  334 

Henry  VII,  King,  55,  154,  169, 
181,  210,  213,  266,  288,  294, 
306 

Henry  VIII,  King,  72, 21 1,  245- 
248,  291,  308,  331-335 
Henry  duke  of  Lancaster  and 
earl  of  Derby,  91,  128,  167, 
200,  297,  298,  299,  300,  309 
Henry  earl  of  Lancaster,  117 
Heraldic  beasts  as  finials  and 
vane  holders,  238-239,  241- 
248 

Heraldic  colours,  37,  38 ; furs, 39 
Heraldry,  definition  of,  35 
Heralds’  College,  233,  235,  334, 
336,  34i 

Hereford,  arms  of,  earldom  of, 
214,  327 

Hereford,  duke  of,  92;  earl  of, 
see  Stafford,  Humphrey; 
Henry  duke  of,  see  Henry; 
Humphrey  earl  of, see  Bohun ; 
John  earl  of,  see  Bohun 
Herne  (Kent),  brass  at,  93 

418 


Heslerton,  Alice,  118;  Thomas 
of,  1 18 

Heslerton  arms,  118 
Hever  (Kent),  brass  at,  267 
Hexham,  regality  of,  seal  of, 

105 

Hevtesbury,  banner  of,  216 
Holand,  Joan,  206;  Thomas, 
duke  of  Exeter,  282 ; Thomas, 
earl  of  Kent,  168,  206,  214, 
274;  Thomas  de,  129 
Holand,  lordship  of,  213 
Holand  and  Wake,  Thomas 
lord,  21 1 

Holbeach  (Lines),  effigy  at,  257 
Holbein,  the  painter,  295,  306, 
307 

Hollar  (Wenceslaus),  242 
Holyngbroke,  William,  arms  of, 
87 

Hope  rebus,  192 
Howard,  Thomas,  duke  of  Nor- 
folk, 295,  329 

Humphrey  duke  of  Gloucester 
and  earl  of  Buckingham,  96, 
164,  281 

Hungerfordand  Botreaux, Mar- 
garet lady  of,  217,  222,  239 
Hungerford,  Robert  lord,  60, 
303  ; Sir  Robert,  217;  Walter 
lord,  144,  216,  221,  222,  229, 
230 

Hungerford  sickle,  182,  216 
Hussey  arms,  116,  144;  banner 
of,  216 

Huth,  Mr.  Edward,  307 

Ich  diene,  the  motto,  166 
Illustrations,  Chronological  se- 
ries of,  354 

Impalement  of  arms,  252 
Indenting,  45 

Ireland,  249;  harp  of,  226,  347 


Isabel,  sister  of  Richard  duke  of 
York,  188 

Isabel,  Queen,  1 15,  324 
Islip,  John,  abbot  of  Westmin- 
ster, rebus  of,  189,  191 

James  I,  King,  283 
Jane  the  fool,  248 
Jasper  duke  of  Bedford,  164 
Jerusalem,  Kingdom  of,  arms 

of,  51 

Joan,  countess  of  Arundel,  279, 
280,  304 

Joan,  dau.  of  King  Edward  I, 
1 14 

Joan  princess  of  Wales,  174, 
326 

Joan,  Queen,  299,  303  ; effigy  of, 
270,  271 

John  duke  of  Bedfordand  regent 
of  France,  215,  229 
John  of  Eltham,  the  lord,  99, 
323 

John  of  Gaunt  duke  of  Lancas- 
ter, 101,  hi,  155,  166,  167, 
174,  199,  272,  324,  328 
John,  saint,  eagle  of,  353 
John,  Saint,  John  lord,  275 

Katharine,  saint,  hospital  of, 
282,  283 

Kendal,  John  earl  of,  see  Beau- 
fort 

Kensington,  South,  119 
Kent,  earl  of,  see  Edmund ; 

Thomas  earl  of,  see  Holand 
Keys,  Roger  and  Thomas,  arms 
of,  47,  48 

Kidderminster  (Worcs),  brass 
at,  88 

King’s  Langley  (Herts),  150 
King’s  Lynn  waits’  collars,  313, 
314 


Kingston-on-Hull,  mayor’s  and  Index 
mayoress’s  chains,  315 
Kirby  Hall,  (Northants),  338 
Kirkham  priory  (Yorks),  her- 
aldry on  gatehouse,  38 
Kirkton,  Robert,  abbot  of 
Peterborough,  178;  rebus  of, 

188,  191 

Knightley  family,  343 
Knots  as  badgers,  184 

Label,  the,  99 

Laci,  Henry  de,  arms  of,  44; 

Henry  de,  earl  of  Lincoln, 

124,  194 

Lacy  arms,  119 
Ladies,  arms  of,  109 
Lancaster,  Aveline  countess  of, 

120;  Henry  of,  lord  of  Mon- 
mouth, 125,  126,  127,  194; 
Thomas  earl  of,  see  Thomas 
Lancaster,  duke  of,  see  John  of 
Gaunt 

Lancaster,  earl  of,  see  Edmund 
Lancaster,  House  of,  296 
Langeton,  canon  William,  185 
Langley,  see  Edmund  of 
Langley,  Thomas,  bp.  of  Dur- 
ham, 163 

Latimer,  William  lord,  141, 

328 

Lavenham  church  (Suffolk),  175 
Lavenham,  William  of,  273 
Law,  Ernest,  244 
Legg,  L.  G.  Wickham,  155 
Leicester,  Thomas  earl  of,  see 
Thomas 

Lennox,  Margaret  countess  of, 
tomb  of,  341,  343,  344 
Leon,  arms  of,  86,  1 1 1 ; lion  of, 

114 

Leybourne  arms,  117,  120,  125, 

322 


419 


Index  Leybourne,  Juliana,  1 17 ; Roger, 
124,  21 1 ; Thomas,  1 17 
Lincoln,  Henry  earl  of,  see  Laci ; 
Henry  de  Laci  earl  of,  44; 
John  bp.  of,  see  Alderby 
Lincoln  minster,  heraldry  in, 
54 

Lionel  duke  of  Clarence,  101, 
272 

Lisle  effigy  at  Thruxton,  308 
Little  Device,  the,  154 
Littlebury,  Sir  Humphrey, 
effigy  of,  257 

London,  299;  arms  of,  337; 
banner  of  the  lord  mayor  of, 
219,  226,  228;  collar  of  SS  of 
lord  mayor,  308, 315;  sheriff’s 
chains, 315  ; waits’  collars,  3 13 
London,  Burlington  House,  23 3 ; 
Mansion  House,  219,  226; 
National  Portrait  Gallery, 
21 1 ; Nelson  Column  in,  290; 
St.  Paul’s  cathedral  church, 
108,  228,  323;  Templars’ 
church  in,  105 ; Trinity 
House,  arms,  349,  350 
Longespee,  Emmeline,  217;  Ste- 
phen, 194,  217 

Longespee  lions,  200;  long- 
swords,  182,  217 
Long  Melford  (Suffolk),  46 
Lord,  Our,  arms  of,  49 
Lovain  arms,  97 
Lovel  badge,  184 
Lovel,  Francis  viscount,  147; 
John  lord,  304;  Katharine, 
321 

Lovel  and  Holand,  William 
lord,  200 

Lowick  church  (Northants), 
187,  188 

Lozenges  of  arms,  use  of,  no 
Lozengy,  44 

420 


Lucy  arms,  218;  pike,  182 
Lullingstone  (Kent),  191,- 192 
Lupton,  Robert,  provost  of 
Eton,  rebus  of,  19 1 
Lyhart,  Walter,  bp.  of  Norwich, 
191 

Lyte,  John,  arms  of,  334 

Macclesfield,  Thomas,  sene- 
schal of,  183 

Magnavilla,  Geoffrey  de,  105 
Man,  Isle  of,  183 
Manners  effigy  at  Windsor,  306 
Mansion  House,  see  London 
Mantlings,  139-147 
Mapperton  manor-house  (Dor- 
set), 238,  243 

March,  earls  of,  168;  Edmund 
earl  of,  jwMortimer ; Richard 
earl  of,  see  Richard ; Roger 
earl  of,  see  Mortimer 
March,  white  lion  of,  206,  208, 
209,  304,  326 
Margaret,  saint,  313 
Markenfield,  Sir  Thomas,  309, 
3IQ 

Marmion,  William  lord,  see 
FitzHugh 

Marni,  Sir  Robert  de,  129,  130, 
198 

Martel  family,  189 
Marten  church  (Wilts),  tile 
from,  334 

Mary  I,  Queen,  313,  336 
Mary,  Queen,  banner  of,  228 
Masons’  Company,  134 
Maud  of  Lancaster,  1 17,  119 
Mauley  arms,  128 
Mauley,  Peter  de,  IV,  seal  of, 
82;  Peter  de,  VI,  128,  198 
Mayors’  collars  or  chains,  313 
Michael,  St.,  and  St.  George, 
Order  of,  108,  228 


MUdenhall  (Suffolk),  brass  for- 
merly at,  301 

Monmouth,  Henry  lord  of,  see 
Lancaster 

Montagu  griffin,  205 
Montagu,  John  lord,  see  Nevill ; 
Simon  lord  of,  69,  86;  Sybil, 
1 17;  William,  earl  of  Salis- 
bury, 1 17,  125,  127,  152,  195 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  306,  307, 
312 

Mortimer  arms,  174,  302,  326 
Mortimer,  Edmund,  earl  of 
March  and  Ulster,  174,  197, 
201,  274,  302,  325;  Philippa, 
274;  Roger,  earl  of  March 
and  Ulster,  199 
Morton,  John,  abp.  of  Canter- 
bury, 164;  Thomas,  Canon 
of  York,  328 

Moulton,  Thomas  de,  124 
Moun,  John  de,  195 
Mounci,  Walter  de,  128 
Mugginton  (Derbys),  brass  at, 
304 

Multon,  Elizabeth  de,  117 

Nanfant,  Sir  Richard,  233 
Nelson  Column  in  London,  290 
Nevill,  Alexander,  abp.  of  York, 
162;  Cecily,  208,  212;  John 
lord,  2 77;  John,  lord  Mon- 
tague, 203 ; John,  lord  of 
Raby,  199;  Margery,  wife 
of  John  lord,  277;  Ralph, 
earl  of  Westmorland,  278 ; 
Richard,  earl  of  Salisbury 
and  Warwick,  93,  137,  138, 
160,  200,  205,  229,  231; 
Robert,  bp.  of  Durham, 
163,  164;  Sir  William,  199 
Nevill,  effigies  at  BranCepeth, 
304;  family,  103 


Newburgh,  arms  of,  97 
Newcastle  sheriff’s  chain,  315 
New  Hall  (Essex),  210,  291, 332, 
333 

Nicolas,  Sir  N.  H.,  273 
Norfolk,  Thomas  duke  of,  see 
Howard 

Normandy,  duchy  of,  154,  155 
Northampton,  earl  of,  see  Staf- 
ford, Humphrey 
Northumberland,  duke  of,  311, 
312;  earl  of,  3 1 1 ; Henry  earl 
of,  see  Percy 

Northwood  arms,  120,  322 
Norwich  arms,  72 ; mayor’s 
chain,  315;  sheriff’s  chain, 
315  ; waits’  collars,  313,  314 
Norwich  cathedral  church,  192, 
263,  306 

Norwich  Guildhall,  doorway  in, 
71,72 

Norwich,  Henry  bishop  of,  see 
Despenser;  James  bp.  of,  see 
Goldwell;  Walter  bp.  of,  see 
Lyhart;  William  bp.  of,  264 

Ockwells  (Berks),  heraldic 
glass  at,  21 1 

Oldhalle,  Sir  William,  182 
Ordinaries,  the,  formation  of, 
40,  41 

Orle,  the,  42 

Ormond,  Thomas  earl  of,  see 
Bullen 

Ostrevant,  Comte  of,  166 
Ostrich-feathers  badge,  166 
Oxenbridge,  John,  rebus  of,  192 
Oxford,  rebus  on  name,  189 
Oxford,  All  Souls’  college,  61 ; 
Magdalen  college,  112; 
Queen’s  college,  seal  of,  80 
Oxford,  John  earl  of,  see  Vere; 
Richard  earl  of,  and  marquess 

421 


Index 


Index  of  Dublin,  272;  Robert  earl 
of,  see  Vere 

Pakington,  William,  archdn. 

of  Canterbury,  326 
Pale,  the,  40 

Paly,  43 ; number  of  pales,  49 
Park-palings,  collar  of,  309,  310 
Party,  40;  Party-bendwise,  40; 
Party-fessewise,  40;  Party- 
saltirewise,  41 

Passion,  instruments  of  the, 

49 

Patrick,  saint,  249 ; cross  or 
saltire  of,  225 
Paul,  saint,  sword  of,  226 
Pavely,  Sir  Walter,  141 
Paynel,  William,  113 
Peche,  Sir  John,  125;  rebus  of, 
191,  192 

Pecksall,  Sir  Ralph,  341,  343, 

345 

Pelham,  Sir  John,  badge  of,  200 
Pembridge,  effigy  of  a,  76 
Pembroke,  earl  of,  323  ; see  also 
Valence 

Pembroke,  John  earl  of,  see 
Hastings 

Pennons,  235-237 
Perche,  earl  of,  see  Stafford, 
Humphrey 

Percy  arms,  50;  badge,  312; 
crescent  badge,  184,  218, 
236;  lion,  etc.,  218 
Percy,  Henry,  77,  239;  Henry, 
earl  of  Northumberland  and 
lord  of  Cockermouth,  218, 
238,  239;  the  lady  Eleanor, 
106,  107,  108 

Peter,  bishop  of  Exeter,  321 
Peter,  saint,  arms  of,  323,  328, 
329 

Peterborough  (Northants), 

422 


deanery  gateway  at,  178,  181, 
188,  191 

Phelip  eagle,  48,  182 
Phelip,  William,  lord  Bardolf, 
60,  182,  297 

Philip,  King  of  France,  322 
Philippa,  Queen,  166,  167,  323 
Pile,  the,  42  ; Pily,  43 
Pol,  Seynt,  Mary  de,  115,  116, 

251 

Pole,  de  la,  arms,  335;  badges, 
182 

Pole, de  la,  John,dukeof  Suffolk, 
283  ; Michael,  earl  of  Suffolk, 
175,  176,  275;  William,  earl 
of  Suffolk,  141,  202 
Ponthieu,  arms  of,  71 
Poynyngs,  arms  of,  120,  322 

Quarter,  the,  41,  42 
Quartering,  86 
Quarterly,  41 


Raby,  John  lord  of,  see  Nevill 
Ramryge,  abbot  Thomas,  73 
Rebus,  the,  189-192 
Redvers  arms,  120 
Regent’s  Park,  282,  283 
Richard  I,  King,  124 
Richard  II,  King,  89,  168,  172, 
173,  174,  272,  309,  326 
Richard  III,  King,  168,  304,  335 
Richard  duke  of  Gloucester, 
seal  of,  59 

Richard  duke  of  York  and  earl 
of  March,  167,  188,  206,  208, 
212,  218,  239 

Richard  earl  of  Cornwall,  arms 
of,  66 

Richmond,  George,  lord  of,  see 
George;  Margaret  countess 
of,  see  Beaufort 


Richmond,  label  of,  ioi 
Ripon  (Yorks),  309,  310 
Rivers,  Richard  lord,  see  Wyd- 
vile 

Robsart,  Lewis,  lord  Bourchier, 
157,  181,  222,  223,  224,  239 
Rochester  (Kent),  219 
Roll,  the  Great,  47,  48,  50,  62, 
86 

Rolls  of  arms,  62 
Romans,  Richard,  King  of  the, 
194 

Romney,  New  (Kent),  brass  at, 
87 

Roos,  Thomas  lord, of  Hamlake, 
200 

Rothwell  (Northants),  338 
Roundels  of  arms,  use  of,  in 
Royal  Society,  233 

Salisbury  cathedral  church, 
60,  87,  303,  306 
Salisbury,  earl  of,  see  Nevill, 
Richard ; William  earl  of,  see 
Montagu 

Salisbury,  Robert,  bp.  of,  see 
Hallam 

Salkeld  (Cumb),  effigies  at,  306 
Salkeld  family,  effigies,  306, 
312 

Saltire,  the,  40,  41 
Sa verna ke  Forest,  lord  of,  see 
Sturmy;  tenure  horn  of,  1 16 
Scales  family,  189 
Scales,  Sir  Roger,  198 
Scarcliffe  (Derbys),  effigy  at, 
2 75,  276 

Scotland,  85,  248;  arms  of,  34, 
85,  350;  lion  of,  226,  346; 
tressure  of,  85 ; unicorn  sup- 
porter of,  206  * 

Scotland,  King  of,  321,  323 
Scrope  crab  or  scrap , 182 


Scrope,  John  lord,  158,  175;  Jndex 
Dan  Richard,  329 
Scutcheon,  the,  42 
Seals,  heraldic,  52 
Selden’s  Titles  of  Honour , 273 
Settrington  (Yorks),  299 
Sheffield,  St.  Peter’s  church, 
effigies  in,  280,  281 
Shene  Charterhouse,  prior  of, 

302 

Shield,  divisions  of  the,  40,  41 ; 

the,  and  its  treatment,  65 
Shorne,  Maister  John,  242 
Shrewsbury,  George  earl  of, 

280;  John  earl  of,  see  Talbot 
Simon  the  engraver,  347 
Skirlaw,  Walter,  bp.  of  Dur- 
ham, 163 

Sloley  church  (Norf),  tomb  in, 

201 

Somers,  Will,  248 
Somerset  (county  of),  59 
Somerset  eagle,  206,  209 
Somerset,  Edmund  duke  of,  see 
Beaufort;  John  duke  of,  see 
Beaufort 

Souche,  Alan  la,  194,  196 
Southacre  (Norf),  brass  at,  159 
Southampton,  arms  of,  48,  86; 
steward  of,  302 

Southwark  cathedral  church, 

164,  298 

Souvereyne,  Soverayne,  or  Sover- 
ain , the  word,  167,  200,  298, 

300 

Sovereign,  the,  85,  155 
Spain,  arms  of,  323 
Spilsby  (Lines),  brass  at,  255 
SS,  collar  of,  296-304 
Stafford  arms,  96 
Stafford,  earl  of,  see  Stafford, 
Humphrey 

Stafford,  Edward,  bp.  of  Exeter, 

423 


Index 


185;  Edward,  earl  of  Wilt- 
shire, 187, 188 ; Hugh,  earl  of, 
275 ; Hugh,  lord  Bourchier, 
144,  15 1,  152;  Humphrey, 
duke  of  Buckingham,  93,  94, 
95,  96,  13S;  Joan,  countess 
of  Kent  and  lady  of  Wake, 
188;  Katharine,  175,  176, 
275 ; Sir  Henry,  234,  338 
Stafford  knot,  184,  185,  188, 
338 

Staindrop  (Durham),  276,  278, 
282 

Standard,  the  Royal,  220, 
227 

Standards,  234-235 
Stanford  Dingley  (Berks),  brass 
at,  83 

Stanley,  Thomas  lord,  158,  183, 
229 

Stanton  Harcourt  (Oxon),  241, 

3°5 

Stapleton,''  Sir  Miles,  144 
Stapleton  talbot,  339 
State’s  arms,  347,  348,  350 
Stoke  d’Abernoun  (Surrey),  235 
Stoke  Poges  (Bucks),  brass  at, 
7° 

Stothard’s  Monumental  Efigies , 
269,  276 

Stowe,  William,  the  elder,  310 
Sturmy,  Henry,  1 1 6 
Suffolk,  Alice  duchess  of,  283, 
284 ; duchess  of,  see  Brandon ; 
Elizabeth  duchess  of,  283 ; 
John  duke  of,  see  Pole; 
Michael  earl  of,  see  Pole; 
William  duke  of,  283  ; Wil- 
liam earl  of,  see  Pole 
Suns-and-roses,  collar  of,  304, 
3°5 

Supporters,  origin  and  uses  of, 
193-218 


Surrey,  John  earl  of,  see  War- 
enne 

Swynburne  family,  189 
Syon  cope,  119,  120,  121 

Talbot,  John,  earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, 96,  97,  161,  214,  229, 
281 

Talbot  and  Furnival,  John  lord, 
203,  205 

Tallow-Chandlers’  Company, 

!34 

Tankerville,  John  earl  of,  158 
Tattershall  castle  (Lincs)heral- 
dic  chimney-piece  in,  57 
Tew,  Great  (Oxon),  brass  at,  79 
Tewkesbury  abbey  church,  58, 
63,  73,  74 

Thistle,  collar  of  the,  293 
Tildesley,  Christopher,  299,  300 
Tillzolf  arms,  326 
Tiptoft,  John  lord,  229 
Thomas  duke  of  Clarence,  302 
Thomas  duke  of  Exeter,  200 
Thomas  (Beaufort)  duke  of 
Exeter,  230 

Thomas  earl  of  Lancaster, 
Leicester  and  Ferrers,  125, 
126,  194 

Thomas  of  Brotherton,  100 
Thomas  of  Woodstock  duke  of 
Gloucester,  99,  155,  1 66,  167, 
172,  182,  213,  323,  326,  327 
Thomas,  saint,  of  Canterbury, 
335 

Thruxton  (Hants),  effigy  at, 
308 

Tong  (Salop),  306 

Toni,  Robert  de,  171 

Torregiano,  266 

Trau,  the  Soudan  de  la,  144 

Tresham,  Sir  Thomas,  338 

Tresham  trefoils,  338 


424 


Index 


Tressure,  the,  85 
Trevor  family  arms,  351 
Trinity,  the  Holy,  261,  306 
Trinity  House,  London,  arms, 
349,  350 

Trotton  (Sussex),  261,  263,  296 
Trumpington  family,  189 
Tunstall,  Cuthbert,  bp.  of 
Durham,  163 
Twyford,  Richard,  323 
Tylney,  Elizabeth,  arms  of,  97 

Ufford  arms,  335 
Ufford,  Sir  Ralph,  117,  119 
Ulster  arms,  1 74,  3 26 ; badge  of, 
218;  label  of,  101 
Ulster,  Richard  earl  of,  1 14 ; 
Roger  earl  of,  see  Mortimer ; 
William  earl  of,  see  Burgh 
Union  Jack,  219,  225,  248,  250 
Union  of  crowns  of  England 
and  Scotland,  206 

Vair,  39,  258;  Vairy,  39 
Valence  arms,  1 1 9,  120 
Valence,  Aymer  of,  earl  of  Pem- 
broke, 1 15,  1 16,  251,  273; 
William  of,  61,  67,  120 
Veer,  Hugh  de,  18 1 
Verdon,  Theobald  lord,  114 
Vere  arms,  88,  104,  1 17 ; boar, 
182;  molet,  48,  182 
Vere  effigy  at  Hatfield  Broad- 
oak,  106 

Vere,  John  de,  earl  of  Oxford, 
1 17,  1 18,  175;  Robert  de, 
earl  of  Oxford,  124 
Vernon  effigy  at  Tong,  306 
Victoria,  Queen,  memorial  to, 
.33 

Victoria  and  Albert  Museum, 
S3,  119,  121,  349,  351 
Victory,  figure  of,  34 


Vipont,  Isabel,  171 
Voided  scutcheon,  the,  42 

Waits’  collars,  313 
Wake  knot,  184;  lordship  of, 
213 

Waldby,  Robert,  abp.  of  York, 
I05  * 

Walden,  de,  Library,  235 
Walworth,  Sir  William,  226 
Walysel,  Thomas,  brass  of,  90 
Warde,  Robert  de  la,  128 
Warenne,  John  de,  earl  of 
Surrey,  113 

Warenne  and  Surrey,  earl  of, 
arms,  49 

Warenne  estates,  115 
Warre,  John  la,  198 
Warwick,  61,  274,  276 
Warwick  bear,  205 
Warwick,  earl  of,  see  Beau- 
champ ; Henry  e^rl  of,  see 
Beauchamp ; Richard  earl  of, 
see  Beauchamp ; Thomas  earl 
of,  see  Beauchamp 
Waterford,  John  earl  of,  see 
Talbot 

Waterton,  Robert,  298 
Wavy,  43 

Wax-Chandlers’  Company,  134 
Welles,  Helen,  of  York,  328 
Wells  chapter-house,  302 
Wells  (Somerset),  74,  190,  191, 
192 ; oriel  in  deanery,  190,  192 
Wentworth  arms  and  family, 
342  . 

Westminster,  270,  294 
Westminster  abbey,  arms  of, 
86 ; abbey  chapter-house,  tiles 
in,  36;  vestry  of,  322 
Westminster  abbey  church,  her- 
aldry in,  37,  43,  44,  54,  55, 
61,  66,  67,  71,  80,  85,  86,  91, 

42s 


Index  92,  97,  99,  n°,  120,  169, 170, 
172,  173,  180,  181,  184,  186, 
189,  222,  223,  259,  266,  332, 
34  L 344,  345 

Westminster,  palace  of,  221,285 
Westmorland,  Joan,  countess 
of,  see  Beaufort;  Ralph  earl 
of,  see  Nevill 

Whatton  (Notts),  effigy  at,  73 
Whatton,  Sir  Richard,  73 
Whitchurch  (Oxon),  brass  at,  90 
Whitchurch  (Salop),  281 
White  hart  badge,  168 
Wilfrid,  saint,  3 1 1 
Willoughby  d’Eresby,  William 
lord,  143 

Wilton  House  (Wilts)  diptych 
at,  309 

Wiltshire,  Edward  earl  of,  see 
Stafford ; Thomas  earl  of,  see 
Bullen 

Winchester,  Henry  bp.  of,,  see 
Beaufort;  John  marquess  of, 
285 

Windsor  castle,  chapel  of  St. 
George  in,  62,  112,  113,  151, 
192,  224,  241,  242,  243,  306, 
331  : King’s  hall  in,  238,  239; 
picture  in,  295 
Windsor,  Sir  William,  201 
Wingfield  church  (Suffolk),  175, 
176,  283 

Woodstock,  Thomas  of,  see 
Thomas 

Wotton-under-Edge  (Glos), 


brass  at,  309,  310 
Wreath  or  torse,  156-158 
Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  242 
Wulcy,  Thomas,  cardinal,  334, 
335  . 

Wydvile,  Richard,  lord  Rivers, 
144,  147,  158,  229 
Wymington  (Beds),  brass  at, 
82 

Wyvil,  Robert,  bp.  of  Salis- 
bury, arms  of,  87 

Yale  or  eale,  the,  206,  209 
Yarmouth  (Norf),  mayor’s 
chain,  315 

York,  328,  329;  chains  of  lord 
mayor  and  lady  mayoress, 
3 1 5 j waits’  collars,  313 
York,  Alexander  abp.  of,  see 
Nevill;  Henry  abp.  of,  see 
Bowet;  Robert  abp.  of,  see 
Waldby 

York,  duke  of,  see  Edmund  of 
Langley;  Richard  duke  of, 
see  Richard 

York  falcon,  206,  208,  218; 
fetterlock,  188;  house  of,  168, 
169;  roses,  200 

York  minster,  heraldry  in,  43, 
54,.  259 

Yorkist  collar  of  suns  and  roses, 
304-305,  312 

Zouch  badge,  184 
Zouch,  William  lord,  203 


426 


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